Eknath Shinde inaugurates Ashti-Ahmednagar railway line in Maharashtra

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde inaugurated the new Ashti-Ahmednagar new line. The 66 km Ashti-Ahmednagar gauge is part of the new Ahmednagar-Beed-Parli Vaijnath wide gauge project. The 261 km railway project is underway with a 50-50 cost sharing between the center and the Maharashtra government.

According to Railways, this service will ensure better connectivity to residents of the New Ashti-Ahmednagar belt and nearby areas and promote local trade and industries, thus boosting the socio-economic growth of the (Marathwada) region. This DEMU train will halt at Kada, New Dhanora, Solapurwadi, New Loni and Narayandoho.

The department of land records will get ₹15 crore for purchasing continuous operating reference stations (CORS) rovers and electronic total station (ETS) machines to conduct faster and more modern land surveys and generate accurate land records.

Under the share of the Maharashtra government in this project, the Nagpur- Nagbhid narrow-gauge rail line can be transformed into broad-gauge at ₹107.22. Together with this, Ahmednagar- Beed- Parli Vaijyanath broad-gauge railway line can be arrange for ₹350 crore.The project was at a standstill from 1996, the year when it was approved. Even after the approval, a lack of political will ensured continuous delay of the Nagar-Beed-Parli railway line project. At that time, the project cost was estimated to be ₹4000 crores. In a similar line, the Nagar Ashti Marg has shown some progress as it has been completed, but the train is not running.