To cover the distance from Prayagraj to Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh in less time span, the Railway Board has approved the track doubling project of Chunar-Chopan section of Prayagraj division of the North Central Railway (NCR).
The work would be undertaken at a cost of ₹1423.96 crore, said divisional railway manager (DRM) of Prayagraj division Satish Kumar.
At present, this line serves the most backward tribal-dominated districts of Uttar Pradesh, Sonbhadra and Mirzapur, which are connected to three states. Through this, 2,054 villages, 6,788 sq km area and a population of about 25 lakh is benefitted, the DRM shared. The distance from Singrauli to Chunar via Deendayal Upadhyay is 230 km while the distance from Singrauli to Chunar via Chopan is only 167 km, which is the shortest route between these two stations.
The project supplies coal rakes from the Singrauli belt. Doubling of Chunar-Chopan section will lead to reduction in travel time as well as additional freight handling and lower logistic cost, the official said while talking to media persons.
The Chunar-Chopan section is a single line section, currently handling 20 to 22 goods trains and 14 coach trains per day. The line capacity utilisation of this section is 214%. The traffic on Chunar-Chopan section has increased tremendously and is increasing rapidly after the commissioning of DFCCIL or Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited. There was an urgent need for doubling of Chunar-Chopan to meet the growing traffic and decongest the high-density network route. In this sequence, we are trying to construct a container depot in Chunar, DRM informed.
{{/usCountry}}The Chunar-Chopan section is a single line section, currently handling 20 to 22 goods trains and 14 coach trains per day. The line capacity utilisation of this section is 214%. The traffic on Chunar-Chopan section has increased tremendously and is increasing rapidly after the commissioning of DFCCIL or Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited. There was an urgent need for doubling of Chunar-Chopan to meet the growing traffic and decongest the high-density network route. In this sequence, we are trying to construct a container depot in Chunar, DRM informed.
{{/usCountry}}It is worth mentioning that 39.34 MT coal was produced by Northern Coalfield Limited Singrauli in 2020-21. It is likely to increase to 65.71 MT in 2026-27 and 71.37 MT by 2029-30. To take this coal to the powerplants of North India, this doubled route will help in supplying coal and making the nation self-sufficient in the field of energy, he explained.
DRM said that along with the doubling of Chunar-Chopan, two more projects have been approved, which will directly benefit the people of Uttar Pradesh. “The first project- Doubling of 96 km Gorakhpur Junction to Valmikinagar section at a cost of ₹1269 crore has been approved, which will not only speed up the freight traffic going from Uttar Pradesh to the North Eastern states, but will also help the passengers travelling to the Northeast. There will also be a significant reduction in travel time,” he said.
Along with this, approval has also been given for the third and fourth line work of 374 km long Sonnagar-Andal section at a cost of ₹13606 crore. This will help in speedy operation of goods traffic going from Northeast and reduction in congestion will save travel time of passengers travelling from Howrah to Prayagraj, as well as ease in starting new services, he added.