The initial phase of this considerable expansion will involve 1,950km of main line and about 1,150km of spur lines, and will be laid within 18 months; the total network is planned within three years.
Company officials have said that the work on two main trunk lines – the East-West corridor and the Kakinada-Haldia link – will be undertaken first. While the Kakinada pipeline is already at an advanced stage of planning, the company is in the process of working on East-Coast link between Kakinada and Hazira and beyond to supply to industrial consumers. Further expansion will see a connection between Kakinada and Chennai, and onwards to Tuticorin; a further pipeline will link Chennai and Bangalore and this could be extended to Kochi, according to company officials.