Finally, Bhadrachalam road-Kovvur railway line to get on tracks

The 119 km new railway line project was sanctioned on a 50 percent cost sharing basis with the Andhra Pradesh government

Kothagudem: The long-pending Bhadrachalam road (Kothagudem) to Kovvur railway line project is likely to get on tracks as the Centre has sanctioned the project at an estimated cost of Rs.2,155 crore.

This was revealed by Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw in Lok Sabha recently in a written reply to a question by Rajahmundry MP, D Purandeswari. The 119 km new railway line project was sanctioned on a 50 percent cost sharing basis with the Andhra Pradesh government, he said. This has revived the hopes of the locals about the project moving ahead.

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It might be noted that Bhadrachalam road-Kovvur (East Godavari district in AP) railway line was first mooted in 1969-70 during which a location survey was carried out. But the project was put on the backburner after it was proposed for reasons unknown.

A 56.25 km long railway line between Kothagudem and Sathupalli, a part of Bhadrachalam road-Kovvur line, has already been completed in May 2022 with an expenditure of Rs.990 crore, of which 70 percent funding was provided by Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) for coal transportation.

Several surveys have been carried out for the project but the project execution remained on papers. In 2009, the then union Minister of State of Railways, KH Muniyappa in reply to a question in Lok Sabha stated that a final location survey for the proposed broad gauge line was completed.

The project was sanctioned in 2012-13 at a cost of Rs 1,445 crore and later it was revised to Rs 2,154.83 crore, said former Mahabubabad MP A Seetharam Naik, who raised the issue several times in Lok Sabha.

Speaking to Telangana Today, the former MP said the railway line would be useful for transporting goods from Visakhapatnam and Kakinada ports towards Secunderabad and Nagpur thus could ensure cost effective port connectivity to Telangana, besides running for passenger trains.

If completed the railway line could ensure rail connectivity to as many as 200 tribal and remote agency villages in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It would also reduce the distance between Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam by 125 km besides reducing the travel time by nearly two hours, he said.

The previous Congress governments at the Centre have neglected the project for the past five and half decades, Seetharam Naik said while thanking union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw for sanctioning the project. He appealed to the Centre to execute the project in a speedy manner for the benefit of the people in both the Telugu States.