Railways mull industrial corridor

In order to improve transportation of minerals from Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to other parts of the country, Indian Railways plans to lay a dedicated industrial rail corridor at an estimated cost of Rs 40,000 crore.

At a high level meeting to review progress of rail infrastructure, the Rail Minister, Dinesh Trivedi approved the project.The senior rail officials have been asked to take up the project on priority and constitute a committee to study the feasibility and prepare the work plan.The committee has been asked to submit the preliminary report within one week.The stipulated period of the project would be nearly 10 years, the officials said.The issue of industrial rail corridor was raised by the concerned state government during the review meeting.The state officials briefed the rail minister about the project and said on completion, it would double the freight revenue earned by the railways in the section.The state officials said that the proposed industrial rail corridor would pass through the pockets that have more than two dozens coal blocks.The corridor would connect Raigarh district with Lohardaga district in Jharkhand.