Bhubaneswar, Feb 2 (PTI) Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday said the Centre has allocated Rs 10,928 crore for the railway sector development in Odisha in the Union Budget for 2026-27 financial year.
Addressing a press conference through virtual mode from New Delhi, Vaishnaw said railway projects worth Rs 90,659 crore are under progress in the state.
“We had promised to invest more than Rs 1 lakh crore in Odisha. Now, with the recent budget allocation, the total investment in the railway sector will cross Rs 1 lakh crore soon,” he said.
The present allocation exceeded 13 times the average allocated amount of Rs 838 crore Odisha had received each fiscal during the UPA regime between 2009 and 14, he said. The state in the 2025-26 financial year was allocated Rs 10,599 crore.
The railway minister said Odisha will also benefit from the East-West freight corridor project. The 2,052-km corridor will connect Dankuni in West Bengal with Surat in Gujarat.
“It will pass through Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The corridor will boost industrial development and economic activity across Odisha,” he stated.
Stating that six pairs of Vande Bharat Express and six pairs of Amrit Bharat Express are currently operational in Odisha, Vaishnaw said that the state will also have bullet train service soon.
In the last 11 years, around 2,200 km of new railway tracks have been constructed in Odisha, which exceeds the total railway network of Malaysia, he pointed out.
For protection of wild elephants from train accidents, the union minister said that his ministry would install AI-based thermal cameras along railway tracks to detect and prevent collisions with elephants. The project will be launched within 6 months.
Besides, 200 spots have been identified across the country for construction of underpasses to allow smooth movement of the elephants, he added.
East Coast Railway (ECoR) General Manager Parmeshwar Funkwal said a total of 59 stations in Odisha have been identified for complete redevelopment under the Amrit Station Scheme with a cost of Rs 2439 crore, of which work at six stations—Cuttack, Baripada, Barpali, Bimlagarh, Paralakhemundi and Talcher– have been completed.
About 88 per cent of the total budgetary allocation made for the ECoR for the year 2025-26 has been utilised so far. When it comes to the state of Odisha, the total expenditure stood at 91 per cent, he informed media persons.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the Railway Minister for the railway budget.
This initiative of the central government towards the progress of Odisha has further strengthened the resolve of building a ‘Prosperous Odisha’, Majhi wrote on X.
“I firmly believe that the ‘East-West Freight Corridor’, which was approved in the current budget, will usher in a new era in the industrial and commercial fields in Odisha,” he said.
Majhi said the use of AI-based thermal cameras and Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) to prevent elephant deaths on railway tracks will create a model towards the protection of wildlife.
Stating that his government is committed to providing all possible support to the central government for the overall development of Odisha, the CM said, “With our joint efforts, Odisha will definitely become a progressive and prosperous state.” PTI BBM NN
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