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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved the construction of the Taranga Hill-Ambaji- Abu Road new rail line to be constructed by the Ministry of Railways at an estimated cost of ₹2798.16 crore.
The total length of the new rail line will be 116.65 km and is expected to be completed in 2026-27. The project would generate direct employment during construction for about 40 lakh mandays, a government statement on CCEA decisions said.
The project is going to enhance connectivity and improve mobility leading to the overall socio-economic development of the region.
Ambaji is a famous important pilgrimage destination and is one of the 51 Shaktipeeths in India and attracts millions of devotees from Gujarat as well as other parts of the country and abroad every year. The construction of this line will facilitate easy travel for millions of devotees.
Further, the devotees visiting the Ajitnath Jain temple (one of the 24 holy Jain Tirthankaras) at Taranga Hill would also be greatly benefitted from this connectivity. This railway new line between Taranga Hill-Ambaji- Abu Road will connect these two important religious spots with the railway’s main network.
This line is projected to facilitate faster movement of agricultural and local products and also provide improved mobility of the people in the region within the state of Gujarat and Rajasthan and also to other parts of the country. This project will also provide an alternative route for the existing Ahmedabad-Abu Road railway line.
The alignment of the proposed doubling will traverse through Sirohi district of Rajasthan and Banaskantha and Mahesana districts of Gujarat. The construction of the new rail line will attract investment and lead to the overall socio-economic development of the region, the statement said.