Indian Railways Approves ₹122 Crore Doubling of 6 km Barbil-Bolanikhadan Rail Section in Odisha to Handle 8.9 MTPA Additional Iron Ore Traffic
Indian Railways has approved the 6 km Barbil-Bolanikhadan doubling project of South Eastern Railway. The completion cost is ₹122 crore. After commissioning, the project will allow additional freight traffic of 8.9 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) on the stretch. The doubling will also help reduce delays to freight trains.
The Barbil-Bolanikhadan section in Odisha is part of the "Energy, Mineral and Cement Corridor" of Indian Railways. The existing section is single line. It carries about 9 MTPA, roughly six loaded rakes per day of originating iron ore traffic. The traffic is entirely high-grade ore and pellets. It moves from SAIL's Bolani mines and private sidings, including Rungta and Khatau Narbheram, to major steel plants and ports.
Railways is doubling the stretch ahead of the full realisation of SAIL's mine expansion and port and plant capacity additions. The aim is to prevent capacity constraints on the mineral corridor. The work will support growing freight needs and improve rail connectivity for moving iron ore to steel plants and ports.
