Coal Min inaugurates Rs 300-crore Angul-Balram rail link

New Delhi, Dec 29 (PTI) Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday inaugurated the Rs 300-crore Angul-Balram rail line that connects Odisha's Talcher Coalfield.

The rail link is the first phase of a total 68-km-long Inner Corridor - Angul-Balram-PutugadiaJarapada-Tentuloi -- which will cater to the coal mines of Talcher coalfields in the Angul district of Odisha.

''Coal evacuation from Talcher coalfields got a major boost with the inauguration of the 14-km-long Angul-Balram rail link, which would enable Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) to increase daily despatch of coal to the consumers by about 40 thousand tonne,'' the coal ministry said in a statement.

The commissioning of the first phase Angul-Balram rail link has increased the potential of Coal India arm MCL to despatch coal by 10 more rakes daily.

The rail link was constructed by Mahanadi Coal Railway Ltd (MCRL), a joint venture company of MCL, IRCON International Ltd and IDCO. The rail link will also help in the evacuation of the dry fuel from the coal blocks allotted to miners other than Coal India in Talcher coalfields.