The transport infrastructure consultancy and engineering company RITES, in association with SMEC International Pty Limited, an Australian based-firm, has signed a contract with Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (HRIDC), a Joint Venture of the Government of Haryana and Ministry of Railways.

The deal is to provide general consultancy services for Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC). The HORC spans from Palwal to Sonepat vis Sohna, Manesar, and Kharkhoda. According to the sources the contract value is about ₹72 crore consisting of a fee of ₹61 crores while the rest being GST. The HORC connecting Palwal to Sonepat via Sohna, Manesar, and Kharkhoda is an electrified Broad Gauge double railway line built for passenger and freight traffic. Roughly 122 km route corridor will accommodate seamless connectivity to the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) located at Prithala station to Indian Railways at Palwal, Patli, Sultanpur, Asaudha, and Harsana Kalan stations. This project is being funded by Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and is expected to be completed in five years.

The source added that the project would help in decongesting Delhi by diverting goods and passenger trains that neither originate nor are destined for Delhi. It would further be profitable to industrial and logistic hubs of Kharkhoda, Manesar, and Sohna and would assist in the development of additional hubs in the region.