Indian Railways has sanctioned infrastructure projects worth about ₹872 crore across Rajasthan, Kerala and West Bengal to upgrade maintenance capacity, decongest busy corridors and improve both passenger and freight operations.
In Rajasthan, a new coach maintenance facility will be developed at Shri Ganganagar station under Phase-I at a cost of ₹174.26 crore, alongside Phase-II augmentation of coaching maintenance facilities at Lalgarh in the Bikaner region, involving an outlay of ₹139.68 crore. These projects are aimed at building modern depots capable of handling advanced rolling stock such as LHB and Vande Bharat trains, shortening turnaround times and supporting higher train frequencies.
In Kerala, the Railways has approved doubling of the 21.10-km Turavur–Mararikulam section on the Ernakulam–Alappuzha–Kayankulam corridor at an estimated cost of ₹450.59 crore. The ministry said the doubling will allow the operation of around nine additional passenger trains per day in each direction and raise freight capacity by about 2.88 million tonnes annually, while cutting detention time for freight trains by up to 17–19 minutes and passenger trains by 12–15 minutes.
The package also includes a 4.75-km Kalipahari bypass line in West Bengal, sanctioned at a cost of ₹107.10 crore to provide direct connectivity between South Eastern Railway and Eastern Railway without engine reversal at the yard near Asansol. Once commissioned, the link is expected to reduce congestion and save up to 90 minutes of detention for roughly nine freight trains and about 30 minutes for eight coaching trains every day on the busy route.
