Railway in JV plans Rs.10,000 cr corridor

In a potential boost to industrial infrastructure in Chhattisgarh, the state government, in a joint venture with Indian Railways, has decided to build two fully electrified rail corridors involving Rs.10,000 crore. The Katghora-Dongargarh and Kharsia-Naya Raipur corridors will cater to the coal and cement belts of Korba and Raigarh and the joint venture is currently working out land acquisition strategies. The projects would be undertaken by the Chhattisgarh Railway Corporation Limited (CRCL), a joint venture between Indian Railways and Chhattisgarh government wherein railway has a 41% stake and the rest is owned by the state government. Land identification is already on, CRCL managing director Sanjay Rastogi said that passenger trains would also be allowed to run on the corridors, but the rail lines will primarily cater to freight. The Katghora-Dongargarh rail corridor would be 294 km-long and will cost Rs.4,820 crore; the 260 km Kharsia-Naya Raipur corridor will entail an investment of Rs.4,900 crore and that both the rail corridors will be ready in the next five years, claimed official sources.