Sagarmala invests Rs 125 crore in KRCL to develop Krishnapatnam - Obulavaripalle rail corridor

November 13, 2018: Krishnapatnam Railway Company Ltd (KRCL) has received an investment of Rs 125 crore from Sagarmala Development Company Ltd for the development of the rail corridor connecting Obulavaripalli and Krishnapatnam Port.

Krishnapatnam Railway Company Ltd is a SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) Joint Venture (JV) by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited for connecting 114 kms Obulavaripalli (Kadapa district) and Krishnapatnam (Nellore) in Andhra Pradesh. The total project cost is estimated at Rs 1850 crore.

The initiative will connect Krishnapatnam Port on the east coast with the network of Indian Railways at Venkatachalam at one point and Obulavaripalli on the other. A 21 kilometre section of the project line from Krishnapatnam to Venkatachalam is fully operational since July, 2009 in single line and was converted to double line since March 2014.

Commenting on the Occasion Anil Yendluri, managing director, Krishnapatnam Railway Company Limited, said, “This is an extremely exciting project for KRCL. The new rail corridor connecting Kadapa city with Krishnapatnam Port will help optimise costs, accelerate growth whilst enhancing the city’s EXIM competitiveness. This would result in huge savings both in freight costs and time to help develop Kadapa into a discrete trading cluster through multi-modal logistics solutions”

India's hinterland connectivity is mainly based on surface transport i.e. road and rail. The 114 kilometre long rail corridor is expected to revolutionise the EXIM trade dynamics for the hinterland disctrict of Kadapa. It is well poised to reduce transit time drastically by offering a direct entry into the port.

The shareholding pattern in KRCL is RVNL 30 percent, Krishnapatnam Port Co. Ltd, 30 percent, NMDC Ltd 15 percent, Government of Andhra Pradesh 13 percent and BIL 12 percent.

Under phase II from Obulavaripalle to Venkatachalam (94 Km.) the progress of rail construction work is in full swing. Track linking of the entire length has already been completed. Over Head Equipments and Signal & Telecommunications works are in the advanced stage of completion.