Railways clears Rs 345 crore for Odisha line doubling and UP Kavach rollout

Indian Railways has approved two projects worth a combined Rs 345 crore, spanning a line-doubling work in Odisha and the rollout of the indigenously developed Kavach 4.0 automatic train protection system in Uttar Pradesh.

Odisha doubling gets Rs 122 crore

The larger share of the Odisha allocation — Rs 122 crore — goes to doubling a 6-km stretch between Barbil and Bolanikhadan under the South Eastern Railway. The section sits on what the national transporter classifies as the Energy, Mineral and Cement Corridor.

At present the route is a single line carrying roughly 9 million tonnes per annum, including about six loaded iron ore rakes daily. Railways expects the doubling to ease pressure on the corridor ahead of SAIL's mine expansion and planned additions to port and plant capacity.

The work is intended to support rising freight demand, improve connectivity for iron ore moving to steel plants and ports, and add capacity as mining, industrial and port activity grows in the region.

Kavach 4.0 for Varanasi Division

The remaining Rs 223 crore has been sanctioned for deploying Kavach 4.0 across 614.75 route km of the Varanasi Division in Uttar Pradesh.

The system is designed to improve operational safety by preventing Signal Passing at Danger and applying brakes automatically when needed. It also tracks train movement to support safer operations.

Railways has been widening Kavach 4.0 coverage across its network. The system was recently commissioned for the first time on the Malkajgiri-Kamareddi section of the Hyderabad Division under the South Central Railway.