The new Angulsukinda railway line was tested on Sunday with the first engine. It is 987 kilometers long and is meant to connect Budhapank in Angul district with Baghuapal stations near Sukinda in Jajpur district. It is likely to become an important route for transportation of coal iron ore and other minerals from the state. Dilip Kumar Samantaray, managing director of Asrl, said construction of the new line is over. After rolling of the engine on the tracks on Sunday, a trial run will be conducted. A goods train will be run on the line before its commissioning. An agreement for operations and maintenance was signed between Asrl and East Coast Railway Ecor railways. Ecor railways will deduct operation and maintenance cost from Asrl's revenue. Samantaray said the new line will provide a direct link between iron orerich areas like Joda and Barbil to steel and sponge iron industries in Angul region. It can be a shorter and congestionfree alternative route between the coal mining belt of Talcher and the coalbased thermal power plant in Kalinga Nagar near Sukinda.
