New Delhi, Train is a major and popular means of transport in India. Almost every major city of the country is connected to the railway network. But, still rail facilities are not available in many areas of the country, especially in rural areas. Now the central government has taken a big step to overcome this deficiency. The Cabinet's Economic Affairs Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved eight rail projects yesterday. When these rail projects take concrete shape, about 40 lakh population of seven states of the country will get rail services. The special thing is that after the completion of these projects, 510 villages of the country will be connected to the Indian Railway network.

The eight railway projects which have been flagged off by the central government will cover seven states of the country. These states include Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Telangana and West Bengal. On completion of these projects, rail connectivity will increase to about 510 villages and 40 lakh people of districts like East Singhbhum, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Malkangiri, Kalahandi, Nawarangpur, Raigad etc. These projects will be completed by 2030-31.

Rs 24,657 crore will be spent
The central government will spend a huge amount of Rs 24,657 crore on the expansion of railway network in 7 states of the country. The government says that on completion of all these 8 projects, the existing network of Indian Railways will increase by 900 km. Connecting 510 villages to the railway network will not only facilitate the movement of people, but it will also give impetus to the rural economy. This will also help in expanding logistics and food processing industry.

New railway lines will be laid here
Out of the 8 projects approved by the Modi government, 4 are for Odisha, one for Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, one for Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, one for Maharashtra and one for Bihar. A 73.62 km long railway line will be laid between Gunupur-Therubali in Odisha's Rayagada district. Similarly, a 116 km long railway line will be laid between Junagadh-Nabrangpur in Kalahandi and Nabarangpur districts of the state.

A 173 km long railway line will be laid in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This will be Malkangiri-Pandurangapuram via Bhadrachalam and Malkangiri, East Godavari and Bhadradri Kothagudem districts will benefit from it. Similarly, the length of the Buramara-Chakuli railway line to be laid through East Singhbhum, Jhargram and Mayurbhanj districts of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha will be 59.96 km. The green signal has also been given to laying a new 174 km long railway line from Jalna to Jalgaon in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. A 26.23 km long railway line will be laid between Vikramshila-Katreh in Bhagalpur, Bihar.