Overview
- South Central Railway completed the final 11‑km stretch between Asifabad Road and Sirpur Kaghaznagar on July 22, 2026, and commissioned a new bridge over the Bibra River, marking practical completion of the 203‑km project.
- The ₹3,000 crore upgrade added a continuous third track and overhead electrification across 203 km, of which 159 km lie in Telangana and 44 km in Maharashtra.
- Most of the new third line is already in service but a small connectivity link near Balharshah that falls under Central Railway remains to be tied into the Balharshah yard and work on that link is in progress.
- Railway officials say the extra track and electrification will cut congestion on a busy coal-and-cement freight route, allow faster Delhi–Chennai movements, enable additional passenger services, and reduce fuel use and carbon emissions.
- The works were delivered in phases after initial tripling of a 33‑km section in 2016, with phased commissioning from 2020, and now leave only the Central Railway connection as the outstanding technical tie-up.