The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : New line to provide rail connectivity to Vidarbha and Marathwada regions

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Thursday, Nov 13, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

New line to provide rail connectivity to Vidarbha and Marathwada regions

M. Rajeev

— Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

Connecting people: Maharashtra Governor S.C.Jamir, Union Minister of State for Railways Naranbhai J. Rathwa and Union Minister Suryakanta Patil at the inauguration of the new railway line on Tuesday.

HINGOLI (MAHARASHTRA): Opening a new frontier in the socio-economic profile of the backward Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, the South Central Railway on Tuesday commissioned the Purna-Hingoli-Akola broad gauge railway line.

The 209-km-long line, converted at an estimated cost of Rs.531 crore in less than three years, will connect the region with Nagpur-Mumbai and Secunderabad-Manmad main lines and open up new trade avenues for farmers and entrepreneurs. The new line links a sizeable part of this region with central and western India, ushering in, as the SCR chief administrative officer (constructions) A.K. Gupta described, a new dawn in the socio-economic development.

Maharashtra Governor S.C. Jamir formally inaugurated the line and flagged off the Akola-Purna passenger. He said the opening of the line, a long felt need of the people, would usher in a turnaround in the socio-economic profile of the region.

Union Minister of State for Railways Naranbhai J. Rathwa said the UPA government launched various works including gauge conversion, doubling, electrification and introduction of new trains and the focus of the Ministry was on the Uni Gauge project aimed at making the entire railway route into broad gauge. Over 1,000 km of the 3,000 km metre gauge track had been converted into broad gauge so far.

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