SCR Pushes ₹50,000-Crore Railway Pipeline Across Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra

Railway infrastructure proposals worth roughly ₹50,000 crore across Telangana and parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra are moving through different stages of appraisal, approval and sanction by the Railway Board, going by the latest status of South Central Railway's Detailed Project Reports and Final Location Surveys.

At the top of the list is a 781.6-km quadrupling corridor linking Balharshah, Kazipet, Vijayawada and Gudur, which includes a bypass between Indupalli and Duggirala. Valued at more than ₹16,800 crore, the proposal has cleared key stages within the Railway Board and is under active consideration. The Balharshah-Kazipet and Kazipet-Vijayawada stretches are part of a wider capacity expansion along one of the country's busiest freight and passenger routes.

In Telangana, the 173-km Secunderabad-Wadi third and fourth line has been sanctioned at a cost of ₹5,102 crore. It covers a third line between Sanatnagar and Hafizpet and third and fourth lines between Hafizpet and Wadi, aimed at relieving congestion on the existing network.

The 110.4-km Kazipet-Secunderabad quadrupling line, worth ₹2,200 crore, recently secured approval from the Centre. A separate 38.21-km new line between Makutban in Yavatmal district and Goadchandur in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, costing ₹493 crore, has also been cleared to improve regional connectivity and ease pressure on the busy Balharshah-Nagpur route.

The 130-km Vikarabad-Krishna new line, estimated at ₹2,884 crore, has gathered pace after the Telangana government agreed to bear land acquisition costs, and has been recommended for further processing by the Railway Board.

Another significant proposal is the 222.5-km Regional Ring Rail (North) around Hyderabad, estimated at ₹11,500 crore, which SCR authorities have cleared and forwarded to the Railway Board. Among new line plans, the Manuguru-Ramagundam line has received approval from the Ministry of Railways to be taken up under the Public-Private Partnership model, a move expected to improve connectivity to coal-bearing and industrial regions.

The Dornakal-Gadwal line via Suryapet, Nalgonda, Nagarkurnool and Wanaparthy, costing more than ₹8,269 crore, remains under review after discussions between the Railway Board and the Telangana government on cost-sharing arrangements.

Not every proposal has advanced. The Vikarabad-Parli Vaijnath doubling, the Mudkhed-Adilabad-Pimpalkhutti doubling and the Bhupalapalli-Kazipet new line have been shelved or deferred, citing low traffic projections, underutilisation concerns and weak financial viability.