Haryana government has proposed to take up projects for elevated railway line in Bahadurgarh and Kaithal.
This was announced by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar while presenting the state budget for fiscal year 2023-24 in Chandigarh on Thursday (23 February).
The state already has an elevated railway line in Rohtak district which was the first of its kind in the country. Thereafter, the project for an elevated railway line in Kurukshetra city was taken up and is likely to be completed by December, 2023.
The state government will now appoint an agency to conduct the feasibility study and prepare detailed project report for the two new elevated projects which will be then sent for the approval of the Union Ministry of Railways.
Rohtak Elevated Rail line
The country’s first elevated railway track at Rohtak became operational in March 2021, almost three years after its formal launch.
The foundation stone of the 4.8-km elevated railway track project costing Rs 315.71 crore was laid in March 2018. It was slated to be completed by September 2019 but got delayed due to techno-legal issues and Covid-induced lockdown.
The city witnessed heavy traffic snarls due to closure of five level crossing on Rohtak-Gohana railway for movement of trains.
As such, to de-congest Rohtak city and reduce pollution level, the project of raising of Rohtak-Gohana railway line by constructing a separate elevated track along the existing railway line was contemplated and the same got approved by Railway and Haryana Government.
The elevated line eliminated all five-level crossing on Rohtak-Gohana railway line and also connected the city which was divided into two parts by the railway line.
Kurukshetra City Elevated Rail line
The foundation stone of 5-km-long elevated railway track in Kurukshetra city was laid in August 2019.
This elevated track eliminates all five manned level crossing on the existing Kurukshetra-Narwana line passing through the city.
At an estimated cost of Rs 246 crore, the project is being developed by joint efforts of Government of Haryana (Rs 136 crore) and Ministry of Railways (Rs 110 crore) respectively.
Benefits
According to the Ministry of Railways, the elevated railway tracks are comparatively safer as there is no trespassing on them.
In addition to this, the elevated railway tracks help eliminate heavy traffic woes across congested cities and helps in controlling the urban transportation chaos.
Many foreign countries including Japan, France, Germany use elevated railway corridors, which not only ensures prompt execution of work but also ensures human safety.