Why in news
- The Union Cabinet approved three railway multi-tracking projects spanning 655 km with a total outlay of ₹10,783 crore to relieve capacity bottlenecks.
Key terms
Multi-Tracking
Constructing additional parallel railway lines (doubling or tripling) to increase traffic capacity on saturated routes.
Freight Capacity (MTPA)
Million Tonnes Per Annum, measuring the total volume of goods a rail network can transport in a year.
What are the project specifics?
- Covers 655 km of high-density routes to augment line capacity and minimize train delays.
- Aims to add an incremental freight movement capacity of 26.69 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).
- Targets major freight sectors including coal, iron ore, cement, agricultural produce, and petroleum products.
Why it matters
- Eases severe congestion on high-density freight corridors, reducing logistical costs for core manufacturing industries.
- Supports India's target of boosting the railway freight share under the National Rail Plan 2030 while significantly cutting transport sector carbon emissions.
Prelims facts
- National Rail Plan targets increasing the modal share of railways in freight to 45% by 2030.
Mains discussion
- Evaluating the role of rail infrastructure multi-tracking in reducing national logistics cost and lowering carbon footprint.
Source: LiveMint
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