SCR Completes Tripling of Kazipet-Balharshah Rail Line

KAZIPET: South Central Railway (SCR) has completed the 203-km Kazipet-Balharshah triple railway line project at an estimated cost of ₹3,000 crore, thereby strengthening rail connectivity along the country's north-south Grand Trunk route.

SCR said the final 11-km stretch between Asifabad and Sirpur Kaghaznagar, along with electrification works, had been completed on July 22, marking the completion of the project.

Kazipet-Balharshah section is a key rail corridor linking northern and southern India. It carries heavy passenger and freight traffic, particularly coal and cement. In 2015–16, the Railway ministry approved the construction of the third line, along with electrification, to ease congestion on the 203-km stretch, comprising 159 km in Telangana and 44 km in Maharashtra.

A 33-km section between Raghavapuram and Mandamarri had been commissioned in 2016, while the remaining stretches have been completed in phases from 2020 onwards. Officials said the entire project has now been commissioned, except for a small section under the Central Railway near the Balharshah yard.

SCR said completion of the third line would increase line capacity, reduce congestion, and facilitate faster movement of passenger and freight trains between northern and southern India. It is also expected to improve transportation of coal, cement, and other commodities, ensuring smoother supply of raw materials to thermal power plants and industries.

Officials said the additional line would enable introduction of more passenger train services by easing traffic bottlenecks, while electrification of the corridor would reduce fuel costs and carbon emissions.

SCR general manager Sanjay Kumar Srivastava has congratulated officials and staff of the construction, engineering, signal and telecommunications, electrical, and operating departments for completing the project.

He said the Kazipet-Balharshah tripling project would help meet the region's growing transportation needs.