Final Location Survey begins for the 65 km Bhavnagar–Dholera rail line

The Railway Administration began the Final Location Survey for a proposed 65 km broad-gauge line between Bhavnagar and Dholera on 7 January 2026. The Union Railway Minister reviewed the maps on site and ordered the survey; the Union Government had earlier approved the new line in principle.

What the survey is

A Final Location Survey fixes the alignment on the ground: gradients, curves, bridges, stations and the land that will be needed. Its report goes to the Railway Board, and sanction, land acquisition and construction follow approval. It is the necessary step before the project becomes a line, and it is not the line itself.

Why it exists

The stated purpose is better utilisation of Bhavnagar Port and support for the growth of the Dholera SIR. The line is described as primarily for freight and goods movement, which is the honest use case: containers and bulk cargo between a lock-gated port and an industrial city, without touching the Ahmedabad road.

Ocean Industrial Park is 11 km from Bhavnagar Terminus, where the city’s broad-gauge network begins. A freight line from the port to the SIR would pass through the belt between the two; the park’s highway frontage is the road link to whichever siding is built.

Status

Survey underway. No sanctioned cost, no alignment published, no construction. The indicative line on our map is a straight-line sketch between the two ends and should be read as such.