Cabinet approves new Railway line between Bahraich-Khalilabad in UP

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved new Railway Line between Bahraich and Khalilabad in Uttar Pradesh.

The new line will run via Bhinga, Shravasti, Balrampur, Utraula, Domariyaganj, Mehdawal, Bansi.  The total length of the new Broad Gauge line will be 240.26 kilometers.

The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 4939.78 crore. The project will be completed by 2024-25 and will lie in North Eastern Railway. This project will generate direct employment during construction for about 57.67 lakh man-days.

“The new line will provide basic infrastructure support for industrial development having large socio-economic ramification. It will provide a direct broad gauge route to the project area which may boost the economic development of the region. This will also provide an alternative route of Bahraich-Khalilabad and connect border districts to each other,” an official release said.

“Four districts falling in this project length i.e. Bahraich, Balrampur, Shravasti and Siddharth Nagar are among the 115 aspirational districts identified by NITI Aayog,” it added

The official release said that the new line will promote tourism in the region as it will passing through the district Shravasti (Bhinga), closely associated with the life of Gautam Buddha; Shravasti , a important centre for Jains as the Sobhanath temple is believed to be the birthplace of the Tirthankara Sambhavanath; Devi Patan temple in Tulsipur which is close to Balrampur town, which is one of the famous 51 Shakti Peethas of goddess Durga.