Odisha: Breakthrough at Baruan Hill tunnel in milestone for Talcher-Bimlagarh rail line

The East Coast Railway is in constant touch with the state and district administrations to expedite the land acquisition work to complete the construction on the Bimalagarh side, he said.The railways commissioned 20 km of the line between Talcher station and Sunakhani station in December 2019.

The final detonation to force the breakthrough in the 840-meter-long tunnel at Baruan Hill was conducted on Sunday, in a milestone for the Talcher-Bimlagarh new railway line in Odisha, an official said.

The 150-km-long broad gauge rail link project was sanctioned in 2003-04 but was delayed due to different factors, including land acquisition in Deogarh and Sundergarh districts, he said.

The tunnel is between Sunakhani and Samal stations, he added. The East Coast Railway is in constant touch with the state and district administrations to expedite the land acquisition work to complete the construction on the Bimalagarh side, he said.

The railways commissioned 20 km of the line between Talcher station and Sunakhani station in December 2019. At present, work is going on for another 16.30 km stretch between Sunakhani and Parabil in Angul district, he said.

Of the 149.78 km length of the project, about 79 km is in the Angul district, while 32 km is in Deogarh and 39 km in Sundargarh.

Once the project is complete, it will reduce the distance between Raurkela and Talcher by about 126 km, the railway official said.

The line will help in movement of ore through the ports and boost the economic development of interior districts of Angul, Deogarh and Sundargarh, he said.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for prioritising the development of the state's railway network.

The railway line is being laid at a cost of Rs 1,928 crore, he said.

The Sunakhani-Samal and Samal-Parbil sections are targeted to be operational by the end of this financial year, the railway official said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)