New railway line for Shirdi

New railway line for Shirdi
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

AURANGABAD, APRIL 15: Indian Railways will soon undertake an engineering-cum-traffic survey to ascertain the feasibility for laying a new broad gauge line between Rotegaon and Punthambha (40 km), forming a bridge between the Aurangabad-Manmad BG line and the Manmad-Shirdi BG line.

If approved the new line will come as a boost to lakhs of South Indian passengers who visit Shirdi, every year.

These pilgrims currently have to travel all the way to Manmad (Secunderabad-Aurangabad-Manmad) and again back from Manmad to Shirdi via Kopargaon. The new line proposes to cut this distance by at least 95 kilometers by joining the three stations of Rotegaon (between Aurangabad and Manmad BG line) and Punthambha and Shirdi (on the Manmad-Shirdi BG line) sparing pilgrims the trouble of travelling all the way to Manmad to reach Shirdi.

Talking to The Indian Express Salikram Bassiye, a MLC who has been pursuing the matter for the last one decade, said the Railways have already sanctioned an amount of Rs 5.4 lakh to carry out the survey, which may begin anytime now.

Once the feasibility is established, there is every possibility that the project will be approved in the next Railway Budget, Bassiye said.