Bhubaneswar: The construction for ‘super critical’ doubling of Talcher-Sambalpur railway line in Odisha is in full swing and more than 96 per cent of the works of the project have been completed.
A patch of 9 kms between Maneswar and Sambalpur City stations has been completed and commissioned on Tuesday for both goods and passenger traffic. Commissioner of Railway Safety, South Eastern circle, A M Chowdhary inspected the doubling and electrification work between Sambalpur City and Maneswar.
Chowdhary inspected safety-related aspects like overhead equipment, bridges, signal & telecommunication equipment, railway track, manned level crossing etc. and also conducted a speed trial between Sambalpur City and Maneswar stations, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) release said.
EcoR General Manager Manoj Sharma has advised concerned officials to focus for the speedy completion of various project works along with super critical doubling projects. He also advised officials to coordinate with stake holders including state government officials for early completion of the projects.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is giving priority on the development of railway infrastructure of the region along with various project works going on in Odisha and also is monitoring the developmental works regularly. Talcher and Sambalpur doubling work will boost the economy of the region and will provide a hassle free train operations between vital rail line connecting western with coastal Odisha.
Doubling work in Talcher-Sambalpur super critical (168.21 kms) project was included in 2011-12 and the final sanction was given in 2018. So far, a total of 162.212 kms doubling work has been commissioned in phased manner which is 96.38% of total length of the project. Remaining 6 kms of this project between Sambalpur City and Sambalpur stations has been targeted to be completed in next couple of months. Latest anticipated cost of the project is Rs 1539.28 crores.
