Indore-Manmad line will link Mumbai with areas near Nepal border: Vaishnaw

Indore: The new Indore-Manmad railway line project will make it possible to transport goods from far-away border areas adjacent to Nepal to Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Monday approved the 309-km project estimated to cost Rs 18,036 crore. The line, which will connect Indore, the financial capital of Madhya Pradesh, with Manmad in north Maharashtra has got the green signal ahead of the coming Maharashtra assembly elections. "The Indore-Manmad rail line will benefit not only Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra but the entire country. Areas of Uttar Pradesh and other Indian states adjoining Nepal will also be connected to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai through this line," Vaishnaw said, taking part in a press conference here through video link.

It will provide a boost to economic development, manufacturing, religious tourism and cultural activities and prove to be a "win-win" project for the whole country, he added. Trains will be able to run at a speed of upto 160 kmph on this line, greatly reducing the travel time, the minister said. "Once operational, this rail line will help in reducing 1,380 million kg of carbon dioxide which is equivalent to planting 5.50 crore trees," he added. Four locations for industrial hubs have been identified along the line from where quick and seamless movement of goods to the ports would be ensured, Vaishnaw said. He also suggested that the state government identify more such industrial hubs where the central government will set up Gati Shakti cargo terminals.

Speaking at the press conference, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav thanked prime minister Modi for approving the project and said it will accelerate the pace of development in tribal-dominated Malwa-Nimar region of western MP and stop migration for employment. It will facilitate transportation of potatoes, onions, minerals and coarse grains, he noted. The state government would set up a special task force to coordinate with the Ministry of Railways to speed up the project and the state was also planning to develop an economic corridor along the railway line, Yadav said. The railway ministry has set itself the target of completing the project by 2028-29. Yadav requested the railway minister to complete the project before the Simhastha Kumbh Mela, to be held in Ujjain in 2028. State BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma said the project will give a new impetus to the progress of tribal areas.