RailEnquiry

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government will shortly embark upon acquiring some 5000 acres of land to ground Angul-Talcher-Chhendipada [ACT] common railway corridor, officials said here on Tuesday.The corridor will be a composite one with railway, road and water tracks and the entire length of the corridor will be about 85 kms. To be developed in three phases, the project cost has been pegged at Rs 5000 crore, officials said.Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation has been asked to proceed with land acquisition for the proposed ACT railway corridor in the coal belt. Chairing over a review meeting chief secretary, B K Patnaik on Tuesday asked IDCO to examine different modes of operation of the proposed railway corridor by engaging a professional advisor."The alignment of the corridor has been finalised and the preliminary project proposal prepared," a senior official said."It has also been decided that Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) will provide financial support for development of the railway corridor project, if required," Mr Patnaik said, adding a special land acquisition officer will be engaged for the purpose.The proposed corridor will link more than 10 coal blocks including Baitarani west, Machhkund and Chhendipada, new Patrapada, Nuagaon Telisahi Radhikapur and Utkal coal blocks.About 57 industries including NALCO, JSPL, IMFA, Monnet, Rungta Mines, Maha-Guj, MAHAGENCO and TATA will be benefited from this corridor. Of the 57 industries 23 are in steel sector, 22 in power sector, and 12 are in other sectors. The number of beneficiary industries will further increase with allotment of more coal blocks, Mr Patnaik pointed out adding that many stake holders have expressed their interest in the project and welcomed it.The proposed railway corridor will be flanked by Jarapada-Chhendipada road, NH-42, and NH-23 road networks.Meanwhile, IDCO and Odisha Mining Corp (OMC) have received state approval for a special purpose vehicle to develop the common corridor for rail, water and power in coal-rich Angul-Chhendipada-Talcher region. The corridor is likely to handle coal traffic of over 100 million tons per annum and will be connected to rail heads at Jharpada, Angul and Budhapanka. It will have multiple entry and exit points and no surface crossing. Besides, flyovers would be built to avoid cross movements at junction stations.