Budget 2024: Rs 15,554 cr for Maharashtra rail

The new platform being built at Kurla. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The railway budget has given a record allocation of Rs 15,554 crore to Maharashtra, which is 13 times more than the average allocation of Rs 1,171 crore per year given to Maharashtra from 2009 to 2014. While a total gross outlay of Rs 18,093 crore has been made for Western Railway (WR), with an increase of 12 per cent as compared to 2023-24, the total plan outlay for Central Railway (CR) is Rs 1,0611.82 crore - higher than the plan outlay (net) of Rs 10,600 crore last fiscal.

For CR, an amount of Rs 1,941 crore has been allotted to new rail lines, including Ahmednagar-Beed-Parli Vaijnath (250 km), Baramati - Lonand (54 km), Wardha-Nanded (via Yevatmal-Pusood) (270 km), Solapur-Osmanabad - New line via Tuljapur (84.44 km), Dhule-Nardana (50 km) and one between Kalyan-Murbad via Ulhasnagar (28 km). For WR an amount of Rs 1,330 crore has been allotted for new lines, which is 31 per cent more than the previous year.

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Central Railway authorities also received Rs 51 crore for road bridge work at Diva, Vikhroli, Diva-Vasai, Diva-Panvel and Kalyan-Igatpuri. Funds amounting to R85 crore were received for the 3rd Kalyan-Kasara line. Around Rs 1,022 crore was also provided to improve passenger amenities including building new FOBs, escalators, lifts, extending platforms and other improvements at railway stations.

Meanwhile, WR received Rs 2,662 crore for improving speed to 160/200 kmph on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Delhi corridor under ‘Mission Raftaar'. Apart from this, WR has received Rs 1,196 crore for re-girdering of Dadar, Virar-Vaitarna and Prabhadevi railway stations.

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Bullet train

The National High-Speed Railway Corporation Ltd, implementing the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, has received funds to the tune of R25,000 crore for its ongoing works. The work is at an advanced stage with all civil contracts awarded for Gujarat and Maharashtra, 127 km of girders being launched and 274 km of pier casting completed, along with 100 per cent land acquisition in Gujarat, Dadra, Nagar Haveli and Maharashtra.

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