Four major rail projects of Chhattisgarh will start soon, Railway Minister assured of speedy work

New Delhi. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai met Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav in New Delhi today and discussed various new rail projects of the state. In the meeting held at Rail Bhavan, Chief Minister Shri Sai emphasized the need to expand the rail network for the social and economic development of the state.

During this, he urged to start the four major rail projects of the state, Dharmajaygarh-Pathalgaon, Lohardaga New Line Project, Ambikapur-Barwadih New Line Project, Kharsia-Naya Raipur-Parmalkasa New Rail Line Project and Raoghat-Jagdalpur New Rail Line Project soon.

Dharmajaygarh-Pathalgaon-Lohardaga New Line Project (240 km):

Chief Minister Shri Sai said that this project is necessary for the social and economic development of the region. It connects important cities like Pathalgaon, Kunkuri, Jashpur Nagar, Gumla etc. It will connect the northern Chhattisgarh region with Jharkhand and work on the Korba-Dharamjaygarh project is in progress. There is a plan to connect the industrial (Korba) region with Lohardaga through this project. Additionally, it will connect the region to central India through Korba and Ranchi in the east. The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 16,000 crore.

Ambikapur-Barwadih New Line Project (200 km):

This project was demanded in 1925 before independence. However, despite getting approval in 1948, the project remained incomplete till date. The Chief Minister said that this project will connect Ambikapur (northern Chhattisgarh) to Barwadih (Jharkhand) and will connect important cities like Parsa, Rajpur, Chandanpur etc. Through this project, an alternative route will be available for transport of coal and other minerals in the northern and eastern part of the country. The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 9000 crore.

Kharsia-Naya Raipur-Parmalkasa New Rail Line Project (277 km):
The Chief Minister informed that this project provides an alternative route for the evacuation of coal fields, SECL and MCL coal fields in the western region of the country. It will provide connectivity to the prosperous region including Balodabazar bypassing Bilaspur and Raipur stations. The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 8000 crore.

Raoghat-Jagdalpur New Rail Line Project (140 km):

Railways is already constructing Dalli-Rajhara-Raoghat 95 km new railway line. Chief Minister Sai suggested that this line be extended to Jagdalpur, so that economic and social development of the tribal area can be done. This project will provide efficient and environmentally friendly means of evacuation of iron ore from the mineral rich area of ​​​​Chhattisgarh to the steel industries. The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 3500 crore.

During the meeting, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav acknowledged the possibilities and benefits of these projects and assured to work on them expeditiously. He said these projects are important for the overall development of the state and the Railway Ministry will give them priority.