881 km of rail network to be electrified in Bengal

Project to cost ₹771.54 crore, to be undertaken in seven zones

A man seen on the platform at New Delhi railway station. Due to heavy fog and reduced visibility, North India faced delays, diversions and cancellations in air and train traffic, inconveniencing travellers.

The Union Budget for fiscal 2018-19 has proposed electrification of 881 km of rail network in West Bengal at a proposed cost of ₹771.54 crore, a senior railway official said here on Wednesday.

The project will be undertaken in seven zones of West Bengal, under the jurisdiction of Kolkata-based Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway (SER) and Maligaon-based North Frontier Railway (NFR), he said.

Among these seven areas, the New Jalpaiguri-New Mal Jn-Alipurduar-Samuktala section and Alipurduar-New Cooch Behar section, including New Mal Jn-Changrabandha, New Changrabandha-New Cooch Behar, New Cooch Behar-Bamanhat and New Cooc Bbehar-Fakirgram-Dhubri routes, will see the most extensive work.

NFR jurisdiction

The electrification work, under NFR jurisdiction, will mostly cover railroads in north Bengal districts of Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Alipurduar, and also some parts of western Assam bordering West Bengal, the official said.

A total of 506 km has been earmarked for this project, under NFR zone, at an estimated cost of ₹475.31 crore. Of this, 412 km come within the perimeters of West Bengal, the official said.

“The electrification work for Balurghat-Eklakhi line in South Dinajpur and Malda districts of the State will be carried out alongside Katihar-Tejnarayanpur and Barsoi-Radhikapur routes with 142 km of the 176-km-long project falling within West Bengal. The rest is in Bihar,” he said.

The electrification of the West Bengal part of this route involves a cost of ₹124.95 crore.

The 34-km Raninagar-Haldibari single line in north Bengal will be electrified at a cost of ₹27.71 crore.

Under the jurisdiction of South Eastern Railway, a 118-km stretch of Bankura-Mashagram rail link will will see electrification work at a proposed cost of ₹92.8 crore, the official said.

The 52-km-long Katwa-Ahmedpur line in Burdwan and Birbhum districts, within Eastern Railway jurisdiction, will be electrified at an estimated cost of ₹53.66 crore, he said.

Apart from the rail routes, the project has also earmarked 181-km-long rail link in the yards and loop lines, within SER jurisdiction, for electrification. Of the 181-km link, 79km falls in West Bengal, he added.