The Centre has allocated Rs 10,536 crore for the development of railway infrastructure in Odisha for the 2024-25 fiscal year. This is an increase of Rs 524 crore compared to the amount sanctioned in the previous year’s budget. The annual average amount allocated to Odisha for the railway sector in the last three years has been around Rs 10,000 crore. This is a substantial increase compared to the period between 2009 and 2014, when the average amount allocated was about Rs 838 crore.

In the year 2023-24, a total of 473km of new tracks were laid in Odisha, which is significantly higher than the average of 206km per year between 2014 and 2024. In the period of 2009-2014, only 53km of new tracks were laid in the state. As part of the Plan Head, the upgradation of 35 railway electrification projects will be undertaken within the jurisdiction of the East Coast Railway (ECoR). The new budget has allocated Rs 269.11 crore for these works.

The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has been allocated Rs 11,495.90 crore for infrastructure development, which is slightly lower than the previous year’s allocation of Rs 11,513.74 crore. However, there is an increase of Rs 1,127.06 crore in budgetary resources compared to the previous year. The major budgetary allocations for ongoing new line projects include Rs 1,350 crore for the Khurda Road-Bolangir New Line, Rs 500 crore for the Talcher-Bimlagarh New Line, Rs 230 crore for the Jeypore-Malkangiri New Line, and Rs 235 crore for the Jeypore-Nabarangpur New Line. Additionally, the Janajatiya Gaurav Corridor has been allocated Rs 300 crore, and the doubling project for the Banspani-Daitari-Tomka-Jakhapura route will receive Rs 100 crore.

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