Wardha–Yavatmal–Nanded line, with 327 km long Wardha-Kalamb-Yavatmal-Digras-Pusad-Nanded alignment, is an under-construction railway line in Maharashtra, India, which will connect Nagpur and other districts in Vidarbha with Nanded and other parts of Marathwada regions. It will reduce Wardha-Yavatmal passenger travel time from about 2 hours by road to approximately 1.5 hours by train. It will also provide transportation of major produce of Vidharba, such as cotton, soybeans, and coal, to Marathwada. It has been designated as the "special project" status by the Ministry of Railways (India).
History
Revised total project cost of 284 km new line was INR3445.34 crores in 2025,project summary, Indian Railway, 12 Dec 2024.Land acquisition for new rail line in Yavatmal fast-tracked spanning across six tehsils and 90 villages in Wardha, Yavatmal, Washim, Hingoli and Nanded district of Maharashtra, requiring acquisition of 722 hectares land.
Route
Alignment
The final alignment of the Wardha-Kalamb-Yavatmal-Digras-Pusad-Nanded route has the following stations:
Phase-I: Wardha-Kalamb-Yavatmal
Phase-I.A Wardha to Kalamb, 62 km: (existing city station) Sevagram Junction (existing, optional interchange) Deoli Station Bhidi Halt Station
Phase-I.B Kalamb to Yavatmal, (40 km) Kalamb Station (Kamathwada 5km from before Kalamb ) Talegaon Halt Station New Yavatmal (Yavatmal) (new terminal station is different from the existing Yavatmal junction city station.)
Phase-II: Yavatmal-Digras-Pusad
Phase-II.A Yavatmal-Digras (50 km) (existing) Digras (new junction station)
Phase-II.B Digras-Pusad, 85 km:
Pusad (new)
Phase-III: Pusad-Nanded (90 km) Umarkhed (new) Hadgaon (new) Waranga Ardhapur (new) Dabhad (new) Mudkhed Junction railway station (existing, interchange to Nanded) Maltekdi (existing) junction, (existing, terminus)
Related connectivity
Shakuntala Railway, the narrow-gauge rail track between Yavatmal old railway station and Achalpur in Amravati district, is being converted to broad-gauge.
Current status
Overall: 2025 May: 47% physical work is complete with 91% of the total revised total budget of INR 3,445 exhausted with target completion date still showing January 2026 for the whole Wardha-Nanded route.Monthly status report on Wardha=Pusad rail line, indianrailways.gov.in, May 2025. RVNL achieved the breakthrough in 370 meter long T3 tunnel between Digras and Pusad in June 2025 after 4 months of tunneling.RVNL Achieves Tunnel Breakthrough on Wardha-Nanded Rail Line in Just 4 Months, nbmcw.com, 11 Jun 2025.
Phase-I Wardha-Kalamb-Yavatmal, completed and operational. Phase-I.I Wardha to Kalamb, completed and operational. Phase-I.II Kalamb to Yavatmal, completed and operational.
Phase-II Yavatmal-Digras-Pusad, under-construction (2028 target): Phase-II.I Yavatmal-Digras, under-construction (2027 target): revised target as of June 2025.
Phase-II.II Digras-Pusad, under-construction (2028 target): revised target as of June 2025 if land acquisition is resolved.
Phase-III Pusad-Nanded, under-construction (2029 target): revised target as of June 2025 if protests and land issues are resolved.
See also
Expressways in Maharashtra Nagpur–Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway, via Yavatmal-Pusad-Hingoli-Parbhani-Latur Jalna-Nanded Expressway, northwest to southeast via Parbhani
Rail transport in India Akola–Ratlam line gauge conversion (target completion 31 March 2028), once complete will provide shortest route between North-Northwest India and South-Southeast India Bhopal-Ramganj Mandi line, under-construction with target completion by December 2027, will provide shorter route from Ludiana-Hisar-Jaipur-Kota to Bhopal Manmad–Indore line, target completion date of 2028-29. Shakuntala Railway, gauge conversion of line which runs parallel to the west of Wardha-Nanded line Future of rail transport in India Indian Railway
References