MoU signed for Indore-Manmad railway line project
28 Aug 2018
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The Jawaharlal Nehru Port trust under the ministry of shipping, the ministry of railways and the state governments of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for implementation of a 362 km new railway line between Indore and Manmad.
The new project will reduce the distance from Mumbai/Pune to key central India locations by 171 kilometers, resulting in lower logistics costs
Containers and other rail traffic from Indore and other central Indian locations earlier had to follow a circuitous route through Vadodara and Surat to reach Mumbai, Pune and ports like JNPT, travelling a distance of 815 km.
This is especially significant as the new railway line will pass through the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor nodes of Igatpuri, Nashik, Sinnar, Pune and Khed, and Dhule and Nardana.
The project will be implemented through the Indian Port Rail Corporation Limited (IPRCL) on joint venture SPV model. A joint venture company will be formed between the ministry of shipping or its nominated PSUs/entity, including JNPT (which will be the main promoter) with equity share of 55 per cent, government of Maharashtra or its nominated PSUs/entity, government of Madhya Pradesh or its nominated PSUs/entity, and others with equity share of 15 per cent each.
Speaking on the occasion, minister of shipping, road transport and highways, and water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari hailed the signing of the MoU as a major step towards development of backward areas of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra through which the new railway line will pass.
The project is estimated to result in cumulative net economic benefits of Rs15,000 crore in the first ten years of operation. The minister further said the project will provide a shorter route for passengers as well as freight traffic originating from and terminating at or crossing through the region. The project will reduce the logistics cost for the cargo centres located in northern India such as Lucknow, Agra, Gwalior and Kanpur belt as well as Indore – Dhule – Bhopal region to the gateway ports JNPT and Mumbai. It will provide an alternate route to the existing central and western railway lines and will reduce congestion on the over utilised existing railway network.
Gadkari also said that the project will help in employment generation, reduction in pollution, fuel consumption and vehicle operating costs. The project will be constructed within six years.
