Bina-Itarsi third rly line to become operational in May

BHOPAL: The 233-km third railway line from Bina to Itarsi in Bhopal railway division is likely to become operational from May, as the work at 26.5 km Barkhera-Budhni ghat is in full swing.Infrastructure work for construction of new third line between Barkhera-Budni is a super-critical project which will help remove bottlenecks in Bhopal-Itarsi section.

Railway officials said that 7 tunnels running up to 23 km are being constructed under Bhopal railway division to facilitate smooth movement. Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RNVL) has decided to complete the work at Budhni-Midghat section by May 2023. Besides, there are five overpasses and 20 underpasses being constructed for water facility to wildlife.

DRM of Bhopal Saurabh Bandopadhyay said that work is progressing at a good pace. “It will be a big gift for the division. We are expecting to operationalize the third railway line from May this year”, said Bandopadhyay.

Bhopal - Itarsi route of West-Central Railway is an important and busy section of Indian Railways located in central India carrying enormous passenger and goods traffic. There are at present more than 110 mail/express trains operating on this section along with average of 48 goods trains and sectional capacity utilisation is 170%. With the construction of the third line, traffic congestion is expected to be eased to a great extent, DRM said. Besides, goods train movement will also become smooth after the third railway line is operationalized, he said.

Known as the ‘suicide point of the majestic’, the Budhni-Midghat section will have bridges for animals for curbing incidents of trains killing wild animals, including tigers and leopards.