Rijiju: Cabinet clears 410 km rail multitracking across 4 states
Synopsis
The Union Cabinet on August 19, 2026 approved four multitracking railway projects across West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh — adding 410 km to the network at Rs. 9,450 crore, targeted for completion by 2030-31 under PM Modi's infrastructure push.
Key Takeaways
Union Cabinet approved four multitracking railway projects on August 19, 2026 .
Projects cover eight districts across West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu , and Andhra Pradesh .
Total estimated cost: Rs.
9,450 crore ; targeted completion by 2030–31 .
The projects will expand India's railway network by approximately 410 km .
The approvals align with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan launched in 2021.
Land acquisition pace and funding releases will be key to meeting the 2030-31 deadline.
Four multitracking projects spanning eight districts across West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh got the Union Cabinet's green light on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 — a Rs. 9,450 crore bet on expanding India's rail arteries by roughly 410 km, with a hard deadline of 2030–31. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced the decisions, crediting the push to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
What the Cabinet actually cleared
The four projects together add multitracking — laying additional parallel tracks on existing corridors — to stretches that today handle some of the country's busiest freight and passenger traffic. The combined cost of Rs. 9,450 crore positions this as a single-tranche infrastructure commitment of genuine scale. Multitracking is the workhorse fix for congested rail corridors: it lets trains run faster and more frequently without the expense of entirely new alignments. The eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha and the southern pair of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh together form a corridor spine that carries coal, steel, fertiliser, and consumer goods in both directions. Capacity constraints on these routes translate directly into logistics costs for industry and delays for passengers — which is precisely why multitracking approvals here carry economic weight beyond the railway balance sheet.PM Gati Shakti and the pattern behind the approval
This clearance fits squarely within the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, launched in 2021, which frames railway investment as a node in a broader multimodal logistics grid rather than a standalone line item. Since 2014, the Cabinet has periodically cleared doubling and multitracking projects across eastern and southern corridors — this round continues that cadence with a unified four-project package. The 2030–31 completion target sets a clear accountability marker. Land acquisition pace and funding release schedules will be the variables to watch: historically, these two factors have been the primary determinants of whether railway capacity projects hit their deadlines or slip. For freight operators and passengers across eight districts in four states, the Cabinet's stamp means shovels in the ground — eventually. Whether the timeline holds will be the real story.Point of View
Deadline-bound infrastructure delivery ahead of the 2029 general election cycle. The Rs. 9,450 crore outlay is substantial but not unprecedented — the real political and policy test will come in execution, where land acquisition timelines have historically separated promise from delivery. If the 2030-31 target holds, these corridors could meaningfully reduce logistics costs in some of India's most industrially active regions.
NationPress
20 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the four multitracking railway projects approved by the Cabinet?
The Union Cabinet on August 19, 2026 approved four multitracking railway projects spanning eight districts across West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, though specific project names have not been officially detailed in the announcement.
What is the total cost of the railway multitracking projects approved in August 2026?
The total estimated cost of the four multitracking projects is Rs. 9,450 crore , with a targeted completion date of 2030-31.
How much will India's railway network expand from these projects?
The four projects will increase the existing Indian Railways network by approximately 410 km through additional parallel tracks on existing corridors.
Which states benefit from the August 2026 Cabinet railway approval?
The projects benefit four states: West Bengal and Odisha in eastern India, and Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in southern India, covering a total of eight districts.
What is multitracking in Indian Railways?
Multitracking refers to the addition of extra parallel tracks alongside existing rail lines, allowing more trains to run simultaneously on busy corridors — boosting both freight capacity and passenger frequency without building entirely new routes.
