Indian Railways has approved the construction of a 4.59-kilometer-long rail flyover in the South Eastern Railway zone, connecting Bondamunda ‘A’ Cabin to Bondamunda Link ‘B’ Cabin, at a cost of ₹135 crore. The project aims to decongest the Rourkela-Bondamunda section an industrial corridor where freight traffic is rising rapidly due to increased mining and steel production activities.
Capacity Enhancement of a Critical Industrial Corridor
Freight traffic on the Rourkela-Bondamunda section is expected to rise sharply due to the expansion of SAIL’s Barsua-Taldih-Kalta mining complex, increased production at the Rourkela Steel Plant, and plans to double this High-Density Network (HDN) route. To handle this surge, Indian Railways has approved a new rail flyover to ensure smooth train operations and minimize issues related to crossings between passenger and freight trains.
Improving Freight Efficiency and Decongesting Bondamunda Yard
The proposed flyover will segregate the operations of freight and passenger trains, thereby reducing congestion at Bondamunda Yard and enhancing line capacity, operational efficiency, and overall network performance along this vital industrial freight corridor. Once operational, it is expected to handle an additional 8 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) of freight traffic, thereby improving the transportation of minerals and industrial products and fostering future growth in freight movement.
This project is part of Indian Railways’ ‘Energy, Mineral, and Cement Corridor’. Its objective is to strengthen rail infrastructure and enhance logistics capacity for industrial development across the country. (PIB)
