Cabinet approves doubling of Bhagalpur–Dumka–Rampurhat single railway line costing ₹3,169 Crore

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (September 10, 2025) approved the doubling of Bhagalpur–Dumka-Rampurhat single railway line section spanning 177 km in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal at a total cost of ₹3,169 crores.

The enhanced line capacity will improve mobility, providing enhanced efficiency and service reliability, an Indian Railways spokesperson said.

The multi-tracking proposal will ease operations and reduce congestion, providing the much required infrastructural development on the busiest sections across Indian Railways, the spokesperson added.

The projects are planned on PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan with focus on enhancing multi-modal connectivity and logistic efficiency through integrated planning and stakeholder consultations. These projects will provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods and services.

Connects three States

The project covers five districts in three states – Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal and will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 177 kilometres.

“Project section also provides rail connectivity to prominent destinations such as Deoghar (Baba Baidyanath Dham), Tarapith (Shakti Peeth) etc. attracting pilgrims and tourists from across the country,” the spokesperson said.

Multi-tracking projects will enhance connectivity to approximately 441 villages and about 28.72 lakh population and three Aspirational Districts – Banka, Godda and Dumka.

This is an essential route for transportation of commodities such as coal, cement, fertilizers, bricks and stones etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 15 MTPA (million tonnes per annum).