Indore-Manmad Rail Project: Final location survey likely to take another fortnight 

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The final location survey of the ambitious 339 km long Indore-Manmad new rail line project is going on at full speed in the section that falls in the state.

A private agency is currently carrying out the survey work, which is likely to be completed in the next 15 days. Subsequently, the survey report would be sent to the Central Railway Head office and the Railway Board for its approval. 

The survey is being conducted from Nardana to Sendhwa and Sendhwa to Julwania. At present, a private agency from Pune is surveying for site testing and utility shifting. 

The officials of the Central Railway informed that 15 machines have been deployed in the survey work and three different teams are working on the ground. 

Earlier, Central Railway had done a feasibility and stone survey for this rail route. The survey agency men put stones every one and a quarter kilometre along the route through which the railway track is going to pass. 

At present, the team is surveying soil and rock around areas where major and minor bridges and railway crossings are proposed. They are also surveying areas where highways are coming in the way of the track. With the help of a boring machine, samples are collected and sent to labs for testing. 

The report will suggest where and how many tunnels, bridges and crossings etc. will have to be constructed. Sources said that in the next phase, the survey work will be conducted between Julwania and Mhow. 

Following the completion of the soil and utility survey, a separate survey would be conducted to gather information about the land required for the new rail line project. It will provide details of how much and where land would be required for this project. This work is estimated to take almost 1 year. The survey is being done according to the needs of a double track. After the survey, the agency will help the Railways in getting the land. After that, fieldwork on the railway line will start. 

The commissioning of the Indore-Manmad rail line will reduce the distance from Indore to Mumbai and Pune. The rail line will provide an alternate rail route to connect north to south India.

CPRO Central Railway, Shivaji Sutar could not be contacted despite several phone calls and messages.