The Haryana Cabinet which met under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal recently approved the proposal for the implementation of a new rail project to connect Palwal to Sonipat at a cost of Rs 5,566 crore under the Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor Project.
The Cabinet also approved debt share of Rs 3,340 crore including Rs 2,800 crore as EAP loan from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). It also authorised Chief Minister to approve any changes or modifications, which arise during the consultation with Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (HRIDC) for removing difficulties and bottlenecks in the implementation of the project.
Here are 5 facts you must know about this project:
1. The Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor Project from Palwal to Sonipat is being implemented by HRIDC, a joint venture of Ministry of Railways and the state government. The total route length of the project is 121.742 Km and total project cost including land acquisition and interest during construction is Rs 5,566 crore.
2. It will have 17 stations including 14 new stations and three existing stations, 23 major waterway bridges, 195 minor waterway bridges and three rail flyovers. Apart from this, it will have two road-over bridge and 153 road-under bridge.
3. The rail corridor will enable running of passenger trains on this route, which will directly connect the region of Gurugram with state capital Chandigarh, bypassing Delhi, leading to reduced travel time. Also, it will enable running trains like Shatabdi Superfast Express on this route bypassing Delhi so as to provide fast, reliable, safe and comfortable journey to the people of the state. Besides, the project will facilitate the running of trains from Gurugram or Faridabad to various parts of the state.
4. The project will also facilitate the diversion of goods traffic not meant for Delhi and will help in developing multimodal hubs in NCR region of Haryana. It will open up unserved areas of the State, thereby enhancing the economic and social activity of the State.
5. The corridor will be connecting all major industrial cities of the state and it is expected to be completed in 3 years. It will enable direct rail connectivity between Palwal and Sonipat bypassing Delhi and linking Asaoti (on the Delhi-Mathura route), Patli (on the Delhi-Rewari route), Asaudha (on the Delhi-Rohtak route), and Harsana Kalan (on the Delhi-Ambala route) through a new broad gauge rail line.
It is worth mentioning that this project is being developed as a JV (Joint Venture) model and therefore all its stakeholders — Indian Railways, Haryana government, HRIDC, CONCOR, Dedicated Freight Corridor, HSIIDC, Maruti Suzuki, Model Economic Township Limited (formerly Reliance Haryana SEZ Ltd), Allcargo and others — will have to bear its cost.
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