Under-construction Khurda-Bolangir rail tunnel caves in near Boudh

By K.Kheti

Bhubaneswar, May 26: A portion of the under-construction Khurda Road–Bolangir railway tunnel reportedly collapsed near Adenigarh in Boudh district on Sunday.

The precise cause of the cave-in remains unclear. Preliminary reports suggest the incident created a crater approximately 30 metres in length. Authorities have initiated an inquiry to ascertain the factors behind the mishap.

Thankfully, no casualties were reported. As per East Coast Railway, no workers were inside the tunnel when the incident took place.

The 306.25-kilometre-long Khurda Road–Bolangir railway project, initially surveyed in 1945, was formally sanctioned in 1994–95. Subsequently, the Odisha government and Indian Railways signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly undertake select sections of the project under a cost-sharing arrangement.

Once operational, the rail line will link Nayagarh, Boudh, and Sonepur with Bhubaneswar and Bolangir. Several smaller towns — including Tarbha, Daspalla, Banigochha, and Mahipur — stand to gain from improved rail access. Steady progress has been recorded on the Bolangir end, with construction completed up to Jharmunda.

In July 2016, then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the 36-kilometre Khurda Road–Begunia section. Track laying up to Nayagarh was finished by June 2017, with five trains currently running between Khurda Road (KUR) and Nayagarh Town (NYGT).

 On January 15, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the inaugural train from Balangir to Bicchupalli station along the Bolangir–Khurda Road route, marking a major milestone in the project’s history.