2700 crore allocated for electrification of Muzaffarpur-Sagauli section of ECR

Bihar on Tuesday got a major gift from the Centre when the cabinet committee on economic affairs approved projects for doubling and electrification of Muzaffarpur-Sagauli (100.6km) and Sugauli-Valmikinagar (109.7km) railway tracks.

The work entails expenditure of over Rs 2,700 crore. While a sum of Rs 1,347.61 crore will be spent on doubling and electrification of the Muzaffarpur-Sagauli section of East Central Railway, the corresponding expenditure on Sagauli-Valmikinagar section would be Rs 1,381.49 crore, an official press note issued by the Press Information Bureau said.

The proposed work will bring a major relief for passengers of densely populated north Bihar districts of Muzaffarpur, East Champaran and West Champaran districts.

Thirty-eight mail and express trains run on this section and additional capacity will ease congestion and allow faster and reliable movement with minimum delays.

The press note said in addition to decongesting the entire route from Muzaffarpur to Valmikinagar, doubling will improve capacity and connectivity in the region paving way for economic prosperity and overall development of the region.

As far as simultaneous electrification of this rail route will lead to faster trains, lower carbon emission and promote sustainable environment. Further, it will reduce fuel import dependence and result in energy cost savings for railways and foreign exchange savings for the country, said the note.

The implementation of the project will generate direct employment as well. While the work on the Muzaffarpur-Sagauli section will generate 24.14 lakh man days of employment, the corresponding figure for the Sagauli-Valmikinagar section will be 26.33 lakh man days of employment.

Source: Sanjeev Verma- The Telegraph