RVNL Completes 10.47 km Railway Line in Jharkhand.

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), a Navratna CPSE under the Ministry of Railways, has successfully commissioned a 10.47 km railway section between Sigsigi, Karkatta, and Untari Road in Jharkhand. This section is a crucial part of the Sonnagar-Patratu Third Line Project, a key corridor for coal transportation under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) division of the East Central Railway Zone.

Following a Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) inspection on March 13, the section was officially opened for train operations. The Sonnagar-Patratu corridor is one of Indian Railways' busiest freight routes, essential for transporting coal to nearby super-thermal power plants. Spanning 291 km through Bihar's Aurangabad district and Jharkhand’s Ramgarh, Hazaribagh, Latehar, Palamu, and Garhwa districts, the project is being executed in phases by RVNL. Of the total route, 170.11 km has already been commissioned, including the newly completed Sigsigi-Untari Road section.

In the current financial year (2024-25), RVNL has commissioned approximately 307 km of railway lines, including new lines, doubling, and metro projects.

The commissioning work in this section involved electrification, modernization of the signalling system with Distributed Electronic Interlocking (EI) at Sigsigi (SQS), Karkatta (KRTA), and Untari Road (URD), along with railway track modifications to enhance flexibility and train movement.

Additionally, platform levels were upgraded to high-level platforms, allowing safe halts for longer 24-coach passenger trains. The number of platforms was increased at key stations—Untari Road (from three to four), Karkatta (from four to five), and Sigsigi (from three to four).

New station buildings were constructed at all three locations, along with two major bridges, 21 minor bridges, and limited-height subways (LHS), enhancing the overall infrastructure of the corridor.

ET