Indian Railways has approved the construction of an 11 km bypass line between Adra and Joychandipahar in the South Eastern Railway zone at a total cost of ₹272 crore. This infrastructure project is designed to provide dedicated path segregation and a bi-directional connection to the upcoming third line, specifically addressing freight movement requirements.
The bypass line is projected to facilitate the movement of 6.065 freight rakes per day and will support growing industrial traffic, particularly serving SAIL's 23.40 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) iron ore demand and BCCL's projection of 45 rakes per day. Upon completion, the project is expected to facilitate additional traffic of 8.88 MTPA.
The Adra-Joychandipahar-Sanka bypass aims to eliminate existing operational bottlenecks and surface-crossing detentions on the Adra-Joychandipahar section. With the existing network operating at 71% utilization and freight speeds affected by surface-crossing conflicts, the bypass will improve operational efficiency and prevent further congestion. The current line capacity of the Joychandipahar-Adra section is 47.50%, which is expected to increase to 56.45% by 2028-29.
This project is part of the Energy, Mineral and Cement Corridor identified for Indian Railways, strengthening freight infrastructure by creating additional capacity, reducing surface-crossing conflicts, and improving the efficiency of freight operations. It will support growing industrial traffic while enabling more reliable and congestion-free movement of freight on this strategically important corridor.