The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday approved six multi-tracking projects across the Indian Railways network.

With a total estimated cost of Rs 12,343 crore to be fully funded by the Union government, these multi-tracking proposals will be completed by 2029-30. They will ease operations and reduce congestion, providing the much-required infrastructural development on the busiest sections across Indian Railways.

The projects, evaluated under the Prime Minister Gati-Shakti National Master Plan framework, span across 18 districts in the states of Assam, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Telangana, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. According to an official statement, the Indian Railways will expand its existing network by 1020 kilometres and create job opportunities for about three crore man-days.

As per the Railways Ministry, the listed routes are crucial for transporting food grains, food commodities, fertilizers, coal, cement, iron, steel, fly-ash, clinker, limestone, petroleum, oil, and lubricants (POL) as well as containers.

It is also expected this will help both in achieving climate goals and minimizing logistics cost of the country, reducing oil import and lower CO2 emissions.

The interim budget for 2024-25 has set a new record for infrastructure spending with an allocation of Rs 11,11,111 crore. This tops the previous high of Rs 10 lakh crore set in the fiscal year 2023-24.