The government on Wednesday approved the doubling of the Bhagalpur–Dumka–Rampurhat railway line covering Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal at an estimated cost of Rs 3,169 crore.
The 177-km project, cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will enhance line capacity, ease congestion and improve mobility on one of the busy railway sections, an official statement said.
The project spans five districts across the three states and will provide better rail connectivity to important pilgrimage and tourist centres like Deoghar (Baba Baidyanath Dham) and Tarapith. It will also benefit around 28.7 lakh people across 441 villages, including three aspirational districts — Banka, Godda and Dumka.
The multi-tracking work is expected to add freight traffic of 15 million tonnes per annum, particularly coal, cement, fertilizers, bricks and stones. The project will lower logistics costs, curb oil imports and cut CO2 emissions by 24 crore kg — equal to the effect of planting one crore trees- thus achieving climate goals.
The project has been planned under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan with an emphasis on integrated infrastructure development and improved multi-modal connectivity.