Railway Minister assured of speedy work on the projects
Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai discussed railway projects with Union Railway Minister
Raipur, 17 July 2024
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai met Railway Minister Shri Ashwini Vaishnav in New Delhi today and discussed various new railway 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 railway 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.
Dharamjaigarh-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 northern Chhattisgarh with Jharkhand. There is a plan to connect the industrial (Korba) area with Lohardaga through this project. Apart from this, it will connect the region with central India through Korba and Ranchi in the east. The estimated cost of the project is about Rs 16,000 crore.
Ambikapur-Barwadih New Line Project (200 km)
The demand for this project was made in 1925 before independence. However, despite getting approval in 1948, the project remained incomplete till now. The Chief Minister said that this project will connect Ambikapur (North Chhattisgarh) to Barwadih (Jharkhand) and will connect important cities like Parsa, Rajpur, Chandanpur etc. Through this project, an alternative route will be available for transporting coal and other minerals in the northern and eastern parts of the country. The estimated cost of the project is about Rs 9000 crore.
Kharsia-Naya Raipur-Parmalkasa New Railway Line Project (277 km)
The Chief Minister said that this project provides an alternative route for evacuation of SECL and MCL coal fields in the western region of the country. It will provide connectivity to Balodabazar area bypassing Bilaspur and Raipur stations. The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 8000 crore.
Raoghat-Jagdalpur New Railway Line Project (140 km)
Railways is already constructing a 95 km new railway line from Dalli-Rajhara-Raoghat. 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 environment friendly means of evacuation of iron ore from mineral rich area of Chhattisgarh to steel industries. The estimated cost of the project is about Rs 3500 crore.
During the meeting, Union Railway Minister Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw acknowledged the potential and benefits of these projects and assured to work on them expeditiously. He said that these projects are important for the overall development of the state and the Railway Ministry will give priority to them.
