Archive · 19 Aug 2026
Cabinet Clears ₹13,041 Crore Rail and Bihar Highway Projects
India’s Union Cabinet approved five transport projects.
Four projects will add more railway tracks in eastern and southern India.
These projects cover about 410 kilometres.
They are meant to reduce crowding on the busy Howrah-Chennai railway route.
The rail upgrades should also help move goods to ports and connect villages and tourist places.
One project will build a four-lane road in Bihar.
The road will connect Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Sonbarsa.
Travel from Muzaffarpur to Sonbarsa is expected to become twice as fast.
The Union Cabinet approved four railway multi-tracking projects and one four-lane highway project costing ₹13,041 crore.
The railway projects will expand the network by about 410 kilometres across West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The projects aim to reduce congestion on the heavily used Howrah-Chennai rail corridor.
The railway works, costing about ₹9,450 crore, are expected to improve freight movement and connectivity to ports, villages and tourist destinations.
The ₹3,591-crore Muzaffarpur-Sitamarhi-Sonbarsa Corridor in Bihar is expected to halve travel time from two hours to one.
- Who
- The Union Cabinet, through the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the projects.
- What
- It approved four railway multi-tracking projects and the four-lane Muzaffarpur-Sitamarhi-Sonbarsa Corridor.
- When
- The approvals were announced on Wednesday.
- Where
- The railway projects are in West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; the highway project is in Bihar.
- Why
- The rail projects are intended to decongest the Howrah-Chennai route, improve freight and passenger connectivity, and support port and tourism access; the highway is expected to reduce travel time.
- Total approved cost
- ₹13,041 crore
- Railway projects
- Four multi-tracking projects covering about 410 kilometres
- Railway project cost
- Approximately ₹9,450 crore
- Railway locations
- West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu
- Highway project
- Four-lane brownfield Muzaffarpur-Sitamarhi-Sonbarsa Corridor, NH-22, in Bihar
- Highway project cost
- ₹3,591 crore
- Expected travel-time reduction
- Muzaffarpur to Sonbarsa travel time is expected to fall from two hours to one hour
- Railway connectivity
- The projects are expected to connect about 6,448 villages with a combined population of approximately six million
