Rs 1,936 cr allotted for Arakkonam-Renigunta railway line expansion

CHENNAI: The Railway Board has formally sanctioned the 77 km Arakkonam-Renigunta 3rd and 4th line project at a completion cost of Rs. 1,936.46 crore, two weeks after the Union Cabinet approved the project.

The project will add two more lines to the Arakkonam-Renigunta section, which forms part of the Mumbai-Chennai High-Density Network and is already operating at around 120% of its line capacity. The section is also an important link for freight movement towards Ennore and Andhra Pradesh. The additional lines are expected to provide capacity for 7.21 million tonnes of additional freight traffic annually.

The route is important for connecting the Kudgi and Rayalaseema power plants with Ennore and for transporting automobiles to various parts of the country. It will also improve connectivity to key economic centres, including SIDCO Tiruvallur, SIPCOT Ranipet and cement industries in and around Arakkonam. The project is estimated to result in annual logistics cost savings of around Rs. 110 crore.

The project involves 12 major and 221 minor bridges, besides the track and associated works, and is expected to be completed within three years, according to the project details released after the Cabinet approval.

The project was among five multitracking projects approved by the Union Cabinet at a combined estimated cost of Rs. 10,021 crore. Together, the projects cover about 540 km across 17 districts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana and are planned for completion by 2029-30.

Of the sanctioned completion cost for the Arakkonam-Renigunta project, Rs. 1,504.42 crore has been earmarked for civil works, Rs. 225.58 crore for signalling and telecommunications and Rs. 206.46 crore for electrical works, including traction-related works.

The Railway Board's September 21 sanction order said the work has been sanctioned under the umbrella works for doubling, tripling and quadrupling of railway lines and other capacity augmentation works.