Shri Raosaheb Patil Danve, Hon’ble Minister of State for Railways, Coal & Mines, Government of India and Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister, Maharashtra State flagged off Train No. 07718 Akola – Akot train service o­n the new broad gauge section through remote video link today i.e., 23rd November, 2022. Smt. Sangeeta Nandkishor Adhau, Hon’ble President, Zilla Parishad, Akola; Hon’ble Members of Legislative Council – Dr. Ranjit Patil & Shri Vasant Khandelwal; Hon’ble Members of Legislative Assembly – Shri Randhir Sawarkar, Shri Prakash Bharsakale and Shri Harish Pimpale were present o­n the occasion. Shri Amol Mitkari, Hon’ble Member of Legislative Council participated in the program through video conferencing. Shri Upinder Singh, Divisional Railway Manager, Nanded Division and other senior Railway officials were also present.

Speaking o­n the occasion, Shri Raosaheb Patil Danve stated that, the Union Government is committed towards the overall development of Maharashtra State and is undertaking several initiatives in this direction. He informed that the new board gauge line between Akola – Akot is completed with an estimated cost of Rs. 626 cr and the gauge conversion works in Akot – Khandwa section are under fast progress. He stated that o­nce the entire new broad gauge line from Akola to Khandwa is completed, it will provide direct connectivity to important cities in Central and Northern India.

Further, Shri Raosaheb Patil Danve stated that the Government has allocated Rs. 11,000 crores for the development of Maharashtra state. He stated that under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister, Indian Railways is being developed o­n par with International standards. In this direction, it is decided to redevelop 200 Railway stations and operate Vande Bharat train services between various destinations across the Nation. Five Vande Bharat trains have already been flagged off by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, he added. Further, he stated that the Samrudhi Mahamarg (Mumbai – Nagpur Expressway and Bullet train projects), an important project undertaken by the Government will immensely benefit the people of Marathwada, Vidarbha and North Maharashtra region.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Devendra Fadnavis stated that the introduction of train services from today in the new Akola – Akot Broad Gauge section marks a major milestone in provision of Rail facilities in the region. He stated that the efforts of Shri Raosaheb Patil Danve helped to start the shuttle train services between Akola – Akot. He stated that o­nce the entire project is completed, it will provide direct and seamless long-distance rail connectivity for Vidarbha region to Southern, Western and Northern parts of the Country. Further, he also informed that the Central Government is giving 50% share to infrastructure projects, which is facilitating completion of various pending projects.

Indian Railways has been converting erstwhile meter gauge sections into uniform broad gauge sections. Accordingly, the Akola – Khandwa Gauge Conversion project has been taken up as part of the Ratlam – Mhow – Khandwa – Akola gauge Conversion project.

Salient Features of the Project:

Ø Akola - Khandwa project has been initially sanctioned for a distance of 174 Km with an estimated cost of Rs. 2,072 Crore.

Ø This project covers Akola & Amravathi Districts in Maharastra States and Burhanpur & Khandwa districts of Madhya Pradesh.

Ø The execution of the project is taken up in 3 phases i.e, Akola-Akot (44 kms), Akot-Amlakhurd (77 kms) and Amlakhurd-Khandwa (53 kms).

Ø Gauge conversion works viz., laying of non-electrified broad gauge line between Akola - Akot for a distance of nearly 44 kms is completed.