The total expenditure is expected to be INR 1,332-crore.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chairedby the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the two-laning of the104 km Tirupati-Pakla-Katpadi single-lane railway line section in AndhraPradesh and Tamil Nadu. The total cost of the work is estimated to be INR 1,332-crore.

The increased rail capacity will improve the easeof transportation, increase the efficiency and service reliability of IndianRailways. The multi-lane proposal will ease operations and reduce congestion.

The project, which will cover three districts inthe two states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, will increase the existingnetwork of Indian Railways by about 113 km. The project will connect the TirumalaVenkateswara temple with major tourist attractions like Sri Kalahasti ShivaTemple, Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple, Chandragiri Fort, and other placesattracting pilgrims and tourists from across the country.

The multi-laned project will connect about 400villages and about 14 lakh people with rail travel. It is also an importantroute for transportation of goods, such as coal, cement, minerals, agriculturalproducts, and capacity addition work will help in carrying an additional 4.0million tonnes of cargo per year.