Railway line to run alongside Samruddhi Mahamarg, says CM Fadnavis

Maharashtra has unveiled another major infrastructure plan. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said a plan is being prepared to build a railway line alongside the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg. Space for this railway line had already been left aside while the expressway was being built. The plan is now to use this space mainly for freight trains.

Fadnavis shared this information while speaking to the media after meeting industrialists in Butibori, Nagpur. He said detailed planning for a railway line parallel to the Samruddhi Mahamarg is underway, and the task has been given to the Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation. He also clarified that space for the railway line had already been kept aside while building the expressway, keeping the way open for the necessary railway facilities to be built along this route in future.

The purpose of the proposed railway line is not just passenger travel but also to significantly boost freight movement. According to Fadnavis, the plan is to build a dedicated freight corridor from Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) to the dry ports at Nashik, Jalna and Wardha. There are further plans to extend this route to Gadchiroli. This will attempt to connect ports, industrial areas and logistics hubs in the state's interior to the railway network. There had earlier been reports of a study underway on the feasibility of building a dedicated freight railway corridor along the Samruddhi Mahamarg.

Meanwhile, another key infrastructure project near the Samruddhi Mahamarg has been completed. GAIL (India) Limited has completed a 694-kilometre stretch of the Mumbai-Nagpur natural gas pipeline. A large part of this pipeline has been laid through a narrow utility corridor built alongside the Samruddhi Mahamarg. This means the Samruddhi Mahamarg will no longer be just an expressway linking Mumbai and Nagpur, but appears to be becoming an important corridor for various kinds of infrastructure, including roads, energy and, going forward, rail freight. The dedicated freight railway route aims to increase connectivity between Maharashtra's ports and its interior industrial areas, which could benefit regions such as Nashik, Jalna, Wardha and Gadchiroli.

On the same occasion, Fadnavis also gave updates on various infrastructure projects in Mumbai. He said a network of coastal roads, tunnels and flyovers is being built in Mumbai. There are also plans to improve suburban railway coaches in future. Fadnavis said the process of making Mumbai slum-free has begun, though he made clear that this process is likely to take a long time.