Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw sanctions Cuttack–Nergundi 4th line & flyover

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has sanctioned the Cuttack–Nergundi fourth line along with a rail flyover at Nergundi in Odisha at an estimated cost of Rs 802.9 crore, officials said on Friday.

This project aims to enhance the capacity and efficiency of train operations in the Howrah–Chennai mainline section and the Cuttack–Paradeep section, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) said in a statement on Friday.

The Cuttack–Nergundi section (15.99 km) is part of the Howrah–Chennai High-Density Network (HDN). This corridor currently faces heavy congestion due to traffic from Paradeep Port intersecting the mainline at Cuttack. With no direct junction arrangements at Cuttack for Talcher-bound trains, significant delays often occur due to surface-level crossings, the statement said.

The fourth line and rail flyover are designed to decongest this corridor by separating port-bound traffic from the mainline routes, particularly between Cuttack and Dhenkanal. This will help reduce detention of passenger and express trains in the mainline section operating to and from Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, it said.

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The project will also aid in the segregation of coaching and freight traffic in the section. Trains bypassing the mainline route will no longer be delayed, enhancing operational efficiency, an officer said.

Two new river bridges across the Mahanadi and Birupa rivers will also be constructed as part of the project. The line, including the flyover, will be equipped with Kavach safety features and a 2x25 kV electrified system, enabling a maximum permissible speed of 130 kmph, he said.