Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

PM announces Rs 15,000-cr Railway development project

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Thursday announced Railway development programme as part of 15 major initiatives to speed up economic development of the country.

Under the National Rail Vikas Yojana, all the capacity bottlenecks in the critical sections of the railway network will be removed at a non-budgetary investment of Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) over the next five years.

These projects would include strengthening of the Golden Quadrilateral to enable the Railways to run more long distance mail and express trains and freight trains at a higher speed of 100 kmph at a cost of Rs 8,000 crore (Rs 80 billion), the prime minister announced shortly after his address to the nation on the occasion of the Independence Day.

Rail connectivity to ports and development of multimodal corridors to hinterland would be strengthened at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion).

Four mega bridges would be constructed -- two over the Ganges and one each over Brahmaputra and Kosi -- at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore (Rs 35 billion).

Completion of last mile and important Railway projects would be accelerated involving a cost of Rs 763 crore (Rs 7.63 billion).

Work on the Rs 3,564 crore (Rs 35.64 billion) project for constructing the Udhampur to Baramulla railway line in Jammu and Kashmir will be given on a single tender basis to IRCON and Konkan Railway Corporation Limited.

As announced by the prime minister during his recent visit to Srinagar, the first train would roll into Kashmir Valley before August 15, 2007.

The government has decided to draw up a plan to complete all the viable sanctioned Railway projects within the next ten years. At present, there are sanctioned projects worth Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion), which have been languishing for a long time. At the present rate of allocation, it will take more than 25 years to complete them.

UNI

ALSO READ:
PM for economic movement to accelerate growth
PM unveils new policy to tackle drought
More Money Headlines