Latest News | First Phase of Rail Link Connecting Odisha's Talcher Coalfield to Become Operational This Year
Get latest articles and stories on Latest News at LatestLY. The 14-kilometre Angul-Balram railway line connecting coal blocks in Odisha's Talcher coalfield is likely to become operational in the current year, the government said on Monday.
New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) The 14-kilometre Angul-Balram railway line connecting coal blocks in Odisha's Talcher coalfield is likely to become operational in the current year, the government said on Monday.
According to a coal ministry statement, the rail corridor will be a game-changer in the evacuation of coal from Talcher coalfield.
The rail corridor will improve faster movement of rakes to Paradip and Damra ports, thereby decongesting rail network and this will also reduce transportation cost considerably, it said, adding that the government is working on 14 coal-evacuation rail projects for quick transit of fuel.
The alignment of the project traverses through Angul district in Odisha. Angul and Jarapda are existing stations of Indian Railways network. Balram is the loading station in Talcher–Balram private siding of MCL.
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The first phase (Angul-Balram) of 14 kilometres length is expected to be operationalised by this year. "This railway line will cater to evacuation of 25 MT coal from MCL mines in Talcher coalfields," the statement said.
The second phase (Balram-Jarpada-Tentuloi) of 54 kilometers is expected to be commissioned by December 2025. "It provides connectivity to allocated coal blocks on the southern side and central part of Talcher coalfield," it added.
Talcher coal?eld of Coal India arm Mahanadi Coal?eld Ltd (MCL) has around 52 billion tonnes of resources, which is 15 per cent of total prognosticated coal resources in the country.
Of the available resources in Talcher coalfield, more than 63 per cent (33 billion tonnes) lies within 300 metre depth, presenting significant potential for open-cast mining, the statement said.
Talcher coalfields has produced more than 95 million tonnes of coal during the last fiscal, and is likely to produce about 200 MT in 2024-25 and about 300 by FY30, it said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)