The railway sector in Odisha has been allocated a record-breaking budget of Rs 10,586 crore.
The government has allocated a record Rs 10,586 crore for the railway sector in Odisha, the highest amount in history. This budget will support 59 station upgrades and major projects, including the Khurda Road-Balangir line. Railway Minister Vaishnaw highlighted significant increases in track laying and electrification since 2014.
Arpit Pattnaik
The Centre has allocated Rs. 10,586 crore in the Union budget for the development of the railway sector in Odisha. This amount marks the highest-ever budgetary allocation for the state in a single year. Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced this at a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday. This year, the state has received Rs. 574 crore more compared to the previous year's allocation of Rs. 10,012 crore.
"The average outlay for Odisha's railway sector was Rs. 838 crore per year between 2009 and 2014. But this year, Odisha got a record allocation of Rs. 10,586 crore. This represents an increase of 12.5 times the average outlay of the UPA regime," said the railway minister. Vaishnaw mentioned that the railways were laying new tracks at an average of 53 km per annum in the 2009-2014 period, but this number has increased by three times during the NDA regime. "Indian Railways has constructed an average of 183 km of new tracks per year during 2014-2024," he added. He also noted that the railways were electrifying an average of 29 km per annum between 2009 and 2014. This number has been increased to 146 km per annum (which is five times more than the previous regime) in 2014-2024. "All railway tracks in Odisha are now electrified," he added.
The railway minister said 59 stations will be developed as Amrit stations, with construction work for most of the stations already underway. The major stations include Bhubaneswar, Puri, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Khurda Road Junction, Rourkela, Koraput, and Rayagada. Initially, it was 34 stations, but later the Railways added other medium and small stations too. He said 427 rail flyovers and underbridges have been constructed since 2014. "Construction work for 4,017 km of new tracks under 40 projects is underway in Odisha at an estimated cost of Rs. 54,434 crore," he added. He further said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is showing interest in the development of Odisha's railway sector. "He continuously reviews the railway projects of the state. Project works are making good progress," he added. Official sources from the Railways said detailed allocations for individual projects will be announced at a later date. One of the oldest and most important projects in the state, the Khurda Road-Balangir (301 km) new line, is expected to receive more budgetary allocation than other projects. Last year, it had received Rs. 1,599 crore. This new line project, sanctioned in 1994-95, will connect western Odisha with the coastal part of the state. The ECOR has commissioned more than 152 km of this new line.
