CRS Inspection of Jhartarbha Khambeswaripli Stretch of Khurda Road Balangir Rail Project Tomorrow

Bhubaneswar, June 28: The Khurda Road-Balangir rail project will see another 11 of the stretch being added to the railway network soon. The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS)  is set to inspect the 11.4 km completed stretch between Jhartarbha and Khambeswaripli on Thursday.

According to sources in East Coast Railway, after the commissioning of the section, only a 10.3 km section of Khambeswaripli to Sonepur will be left for commissioning, and it could happen by the August end as construction of this stretch is almost complete. They indicated that train services between Balangir and Sonepur may indeed start before the onset of the festive season this year. 

The Khurda Road Balangir rail project holds immense significance for Odisha because of its socio-economic significance for the tribal-dominated districts through which the section passes. A crucial 68 km of the stretch got the forest clearance in February, thus paving the way for expeditious completion of the remaining stretches. The completion of the entire project is slated for December 2025. 

On the other hand, the CRS inspection of the Mancheswar-Bhubaneswar third line is also slated to take place soon, sources said. Once the stretch is commissioned, there would be significant improvements in train running efficiency and ensuring punctuality. The Mancheswar-Bhubaneswar stretch was the only section under the Khurda Road-Barang third project that had remained incomplete due to several factors. This is one of the busiest sections of the Howrah-Chennai-Puri corridor.