Chennai, Sept 26:
The Railway Board has sanctioned the 77-km Arakkonam–Renigunta third and fourth railway line project at a completion cost of ₹1,936.46 crore. The sanction follows the Union Cabinet’s approval of the project as part of a major railway capacity expansion programme.
The Arakkonam–Renigunta section is an important part of the Mumbai–Chennai High-Density Network and is currently operating at around 120 per cent of its line capacity. The addition of two railway lines is expected to increase capacity for both passenger and freight movement along the route.
The project is expected to provide additional capacity for handling around 7.21 million tonnes of freight annually. It will strengthen freight connectivity towards Ennore and Andhra Pradesh and facilitate the movement of automobiles, industrial goods and other commodities.
The route is also important for transporting power-related materials between the Kudgi and Rayalaseema power plants and Ennore. The enhanced rail capacity is expected to support industrial centres such as SIDCO Tiruvallur, SIPCOT Ranipet and the cement industries around Arakkonam. The project is estimated to result in annual logistics cost savings of around ₹110 crore.
The project involves the construction of 12 major bridges and 221 minor bridges, besides track, signalling, telecommunications and electrical infrastructure. The works are targeted for completion within three years.
Of the total sanctioned cost of ₹1,936.46 crore, ₹1,504.42 crore has been allocated for civil works, ₹225.58 crore for signalling and telecommunications, and ₹206.46 crore for electrical and traction-related works.
The Railway Board’s September 21 sanction order places the project under capacity augmentation works involving doubling, tripling and quadrupling of railway lines.
The Arakkonam–Renigunta project is among five multitracking projects approved by the Union Cabinet at a combined estimated cost of ₹10,021 crore. Together, the projects cover around 540 km across 17 districts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana and are scheduled for completion by 2029-30.
The additional lines are expected to improve railway capacity, strengthen freight movement and enhance industrial connectivity along the important corridor linking Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.