Title - Kashmir rail's cost overrun Rs 5.5K crore, to be ready by 2017 end

NEW DELHI: Government today said its ambitious Kashmir rail plan has the largest cost overrun of Rs 5,500 crore among those rail projects which have been delayed by more than a decade.The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail line which was to be commissioned by March 2001 at a cost of 2,500 crore rpt crore, would now be completed by December 2017 at Rs 8,000 crore, Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation Srikant Kumar Jena in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. As on September 1 this year, Bankura-Damodar rail project would also have cost overrun of Rs 1,300.84 crore. It was to be completed by March, 2005 at the cost of Rs 111.90 crore. But now it would be commissioned by June, 2016 at a cost of Rs 1,412.74 crore, the statement added.Tamluk Digha line doubling would have cost overrun of 792.44 crore and will be completed by June, 2016. The project was envisaged to be commissioned in June 2005 at a cost of Rs 293.97 crore.Amravati-Narkher rail project will have cost overrun of 428.05 crore and would be completed by March, 2011. It was to be commissioned in June, 1999 at a cost of rs 120.90 crore.Other such projects include Lalitpur-Satna-Rewa-Singruli, Lanjhgarh-Junagarh and freight operations information system.