NEW DELHI, July 27 — The Union Cabinet has approved construction of the third and fourth railway lines on the Ballari-Guntakal section connecting Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, at an estimated cost of nearly ₹1,264 crore.
The project is expected to ease congestion on a route that carries significant freight traffic, particularly iron ore and other mineral cargo moving out of the Bellary region, alongside passenger services connecting the two states. Additional lines on busy freight corridors are a recurring feature of the railway ministry's capacity-expansion push, aimed at reducing bottlenecks that slow down both goods and passenger trains.
Railway officials say the doubling and quadrupling of key stretches like this one is part of a broader strategy to decongest high-density routes ahead of anticipated growth in both freight volumes and passenger demand over the coming years.
For aspirants, cabinet approvals on railway infrastructure are a steady source of one-line current affairs questions — it helps to note the states involved, the approximate cost, and the stated purpose (decongestion, freight capacity) for such projects.