Rail Projects Worth ₹5,454 Crore Gain Pace in Telangana: SCR

Hyderabad: South Central Railway said several projects were being taken up in the zone with the allocation of ₹5,454 crore in the Union Budget, including the Peddapalli-Nizamabad, Jaggayyapeta-Janpahad, Akkanpet-Medak and Bhadrachalam Road-Sattupalli lines to connect remote regions to the network.

SCR in a statement on Friday also announced three high-speed rail (HSR) corridors passing through Telangana. The Budget had announced HSRs from Hyderabad to Chennai, Pune and Bengaluru.

It said doubling of the Secunderabad-Mahbubnagar line was underway, while third-line works on the busy Kazipet-Balharshah and Kazipet-Vijayawada routes were nearing completion.

SCR said commissioning of the MMTS Phase-II had strengthened suburban rail connectivity in the Hyderabad region. Work on the `521-crore railway manufacturing unit at Kazipet was nearing completion. The facility will be capable of manufacturing multiple types of rolling stock, including coaches and train sets.

The Railways said safety remained a key focus of reforms initiated after 2014. In Telangana, Kavach, the indigenous automatic train protection system, had been implemented over 627 km. Kavach 4.0 has been sanctioned for an additional 1,242 km, while work or tendering is in progress for 410 km.

Since 2014, about 499 rail flyovers and underpasses have been constructed in the state, reducing level crossings and improving safety. Modern train services have also expanded, with five pairs of Vande Bharat Express trains operating across seven districts with nine stoppages, and three pairs of Amrit Bharat Express trains covering eight districts with 11 stoppages, the SCR said.