Two new railway capacity expansion projects worth ₹6,405 crore have been approved to improve goods movement across key industrial corridors in India.
The deets: the projects include Koderma–Barkakana track doubling (133 km) in Jharkhand and Ballari–Chikjajur doubling (185 km) across Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Together, these lines will form a faster link between India’s eastern and southern regions, helping to connect inland production hubs with ports.
Why it matters: the upgrades will ease congestion, improve service reliability, and unlock 49 million tonnes of extra freight capacity per year.
Zoom out: a stronger rail network will also help lower India’s logistics costs, currently estimated at 7.8–8.9% of GDP. Even a 1% reduction in logistics costs can make India’s industries more globally competitive and help boost exports.
