The Odisha Rail Infrastructure Development Limited (ORIDL), a JV between the state and the Ministry of Railways, has launched five rail projects in Odisha. Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that the Railway Board has granted in-principle approval to these projects for taking up pre-investment activities. These projects included Gopalpur-Rairakhol new line (270 km), Naraj Marthapur-Kaipadar Road New line bypassing Bhubaneswar (69.54 km), Banspani-Barbil new line (17.5 km), Bargarh-Nuapada new line (142 km) and Buramara-Chakulia new line (55 km). A DPR for Gopalpur-Rairakhol has been prepared and approved by the Board of ORIDL for further submission of sanction for the work. The line will connect the industrial belt of Sambalpur with Gopalpur port in Ganjam district. Phulbani, district headquarter town of Kandhamal, which does not have rail connectivity till date, will get one. Similarly, a DPR for the Naraj Marthapur-Kaipadar Road project has been prepared and is under consideration of the ORIDL Board. After completion of this project, south-bound goods trains will not make a detour and bypass busy stations like Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. The minister stated that the Railway Board has given in-principle approval for the Banspani-Barbil project with a condition that 100 percent funding for this project should be from the state government. For the Bargarh-Nuapada and Buramara-Chakulia projects, the in-principle approval for pre-investment activities was granted on December 31 last year and further action on these projects is being taken up by ORIDL, said official sources.
