Gondia-Ballarshah doubling to boost North-Southcorridor, bring economic devpt: Rail min Ashwini Vaishnaw

Nagpur: The 240km Gondia-Ballarshah doubling project, worth Rs4,819 crore, will be a boon for the north-south axis connecting the aspirational regions of Vidarbha and Marathwada, said Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at a virtual press meet on Friday.

Vaishnaw, who was accompanied by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, also said the central govt under Prime Minister Narendra Modi earmarked total Rs1,73,000 crore for infrastructural and service-oriented developments in the state, including a dedicated freight corridor and redevelopments of 132 stations.

Vaishnaw said the Gondia-Ballarshah doubling project laid the foundation of a dream to join Ayodhya and beyond via Jabalpur in the future, strengthening the nation's north-south connectivity.

Fadnavis, who also announced signing an MoU with the Centre for setting up an Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT), said the railway network and infrastructure would undergo complete transformation in Maharashtra with the current year's financial allocation of Rs23,700 crores.

"Gondia is strategically located at a junction with two states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Also, Ballarshah is located on the Telangana border and close to Andhra Pradesh too. This part of Vidarbha would be immensely impacted positively with the implementation of the Gondia-Ballarshah project," said Fadnavis, adding that PM Modi's vision to redevelop the stations would help transform them to global standards.

Vaishnaw said the railway station redevelopment would be undertaken without affecting the traffic flow despite its challenges. "We are developing a mega terminal and redeveloping the stations with a vision of 50 years ahead," said the minister, adding the redevelopment of the Nagpur railway station would be completed following norms regarding its heritage status. Apart from Nagpur and Ajni, the minister also informed about the redevelopment of other stations like Godhni, Kamptee, Sewagram, and others where beautification plan would be introduced along with capacity development too.

"Our plans also include de-congesting the space outside the railway station," said the minister.

Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) Praful Patel, who was also present online, lauded the Gondia-Ballarshah project, which would connect Gadchiroli (Wadsa) too. He stated the project would augur well for Fadnavis's vision to transform Gadchiroli into a steel hub with multiple projects in the pipeline in these Naxal-affected regions.

Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), South East Central Railways (SECR) Deepak Gupta, and DRM, Central Railways (CR), Vinayak Kumar Garg, who were also present, said the Gondia-Ballarshah doubling project would boost revenue due to more transportation options for iron ore and coal from these two stations.