New railway line between Manugur and Ramagundam on track
It might be noted that there is an existing railway line connecting both the stations via Kothagudem, Warangal and Kazipet being used for both coal transportation as well passenger trains.
Kothagudem: A railway project which was proposed in 1999 is finally on track towards becoming a reality after 25 years as the Ministry of Railways has recently issued a notification for land acquisition for a new railway line between Manugur and Ramagundam.
The proposed 207.80 km long railway line connecting Manugur in Kothagudem district and Ramagundam in Peddapalli district has been taken up as a Special Railway Project.
It might be noted that there is an existing railway line connecting both the stations via Kothagudem, Warangal and Kazipet being used for both coal transportation as well passenger trains.
The travel distance between Manugur and Ramagundam railway stations of the existing railway line is approximately 286 km. With the proposed new railway line, the travel distance would be reduced by 78.2 km and brings down the travel time as well, said railway officials.
Importantly, the new railway line described as a ‘coal corridor’ ensures railway connectivity to Mulugu and Jayashankar Bhupallpally districts in erstwhile Warangal district.
SCCL produces 67.1 million tonnes (2022-23) of coal annually through its 24 underground and 18 opencast mines in six districts of the State. SCCL CMD N Balram Naik a few days ago informed that the company was going to start coal production at Naini coal block in Odisha soon aiming to produce one million tonnes of coal per year.
Similarly, coal production at the VK opencast mine in Kothagudem, Ramagundam coal mine in Ramagundam region, Rompedu opencast mine in Yellandu area, Goleti opencast mine in Bellampalli area would be started this year. The new railway line could reduce expenditure on coal transportation as well.
The new railway line between Manugur and Ramagundam could help development of tourist and religious places like Kaleshwaram, Ramappa, Medaram, Kota Gullu, Mandasa, Laknavaram and Bogatha falls.
It might be recalled that, in the year 1999, the construction of a railway line from Raghavapur in Peddapalli mandal of joint Karimnagar district to Manugur via Manthani, Bhupalpally and Mulugu was initiated. But it was put on the backburner then.
The Centre reconsidered the project and sanctioned it in the year 2013-14 with a distance of 200 km with a sanctioned cost of Rs.1,112 crore and revised cost of the project now is Rs.3600 crore.
The Centre has also proposed a railway line connecting Kothagudem with Malkangiri in Odisha to provide connectivity to mining and industrial areas of Chhattisgarh and Odisha besides connecting interior tribal areas. EOM
