The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (September 14, 2020) approved the 122-km Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor Project (HORC) from Palwal to Sonipat via Sohna-Manesar-Kharkhauda.
The broad gauge double railway line for passenger and freight movement will be designed to operate at a speed of 160 kmph and will have the capacity to carry 60 million tonnes of freight and 40 million passengers each way annually. The project will cost around Rs 5,617 crore and it is likely to be completed in five years
The Orbital Rail Corridor will connect Palwal to Sonipat via Sohna, Manesar and Kharkhouda. It will provide seamless connectivity to Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) at Prithala station and to Indian Railways at Palwal, Patli, Sultanpur, Asaudha and Harsana Kalan stations.
The Orbital Rail Line will originate from Palwal and terminate at existing Harsana Kalan station (On Delhi-Ambala section) and will also give connectivity en route to existing Patli Station (on Delhi-Rewari line), Sultanpur station (on Garhi Harsaru-Farukhnagar Line) and Asaudha Station (on Delhi Rohtak Line). This project is expected to provide major boost to the industrial Hubs of Kharkhouda, Manesar and Sohna.
Implementation and Funding
The HORC project will be implemented by Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HRIDC) which is a joint venture company set up by the Ministry of Railways with Government of Haryana. For the implementation of the HORC project, an Special Purpose Vechile (SPV) consisting of HRIDC, HSIIDC, GMDA, MSIL, ICTI and ACL have been created under the name of Haryana Orbital Rail Corporation Limited (“HORCL”).
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is currently evaluating a $400 million (approx. Rs. 2979 crore) loan proposal for the Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC) project.
Benefits
Palwal, Nuh, Gurugram, Jhajjar and Sonipat districts of Haryana will be benefitted through this rail line.
HORC will facilitate diversion of traffic not meant for Delhi thus decongesting NCR and will help in developing multimodal logistics hubs in Haryana State sub-region of NCR. It will also provide high-speed seamless connectivity of this region to Dedicated Freight Corridor network resulting in the reduction of cost and time of transportation for EXIM traffic from NCR to ports of India, making exports of goods more competitive.
This new rail corridor aims to bypass Delhi and provide interchange connectivity with the Indian Railways’ main radial routes (eg. Delhi – Rohtak, Delhi – Ambala), the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) at Pirthala (near Palwal), and the 106.5 km Delhi-Alwar Rapid Rail Train system.
The project will connect unserved areas of the state of Haryana and will result in boosting economic and social activities in Haryana.
“This multipurpose transport project will also facilitate affordable and faster commuter travel, long-distance travel in different directions from Gurugram and the industrial regions of Manesar, Sohna, Farukhnagar, Kharkhauda and Sonipat,” said the Ministry of Railways.
“Approximately 20,000 passengers each day will be travelling through this line and 50 Million Tonnes of goods traffic would also be carried out every year,” the ministry added.