Signalling an unprecedented scale-up of railway infrastructure in Chhattisgarh, the Union Ministry of Railways has informed Parliament that budgetary allocation for the state has risen sharply — from an average of ₹311 crore per year during 2009–2014 to ₹6,925 crore in the financial year 2025–2026, a more than twenty-two-fold increase. Replying to a question raised by Shri Rajeev Shukla, Member of Parliament, the Minister of Railways, Information and Broadcasting and Electronics and Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, placed before the House detailed information on sanctioned projects, progress achieved and ongoing works in the state.

The Minister highlighted that the pace of track commissioning has significantly accelerated. Between 2009 and 2014, only 32 kilometres of new track were added, averaging 6.4 kilometres annually. However, the period from 2014 to 2025 recorded 1,189 kilometres of commissioning, with an annual average of 108.1 kilometres — more than fifteen times the earlier pace.

As on 1 April 2025, a total of 26 sanctioned projects — comprising six new lines and twenty doubling or multitracking works — covering 1,932 kilometres and costing ₹31,619 crore fall fully or partly within Chhattisgarh. Of this, 1,023 kilometres have already been commissioned, with cumulative expenditure reaching ₹16,325 crore up to March 2025.

Among the recently completed projects are major line and capacity-enhancement works such as the Kharsia–Dharamjaigarh New Line (100 km), Raipur–Titlagarh Doubling (203 km), Salka Road–Khongsara Doubling (26 km), Durg–Rajnandgaon Doubling (31 km), Khodri–Anuppur Doubling with a Bilaspur flyover (72 km), Bilaspur–Urkura Third Line (110 km), Champa–Jharsuguda Third Line (152 km) and Pendra Road–Anuppur Third Line (50 km).

Large-scale works currently under execution include the Dallirajhara–Rowghat New Line, Rowghat–Jagdalpur New Line, Gevra Road–Pendra Road New Line, Dharamjaigarh–Korba New Line, and several doubling and multitracking projects such as Kirandul–Jagdalpur, Jagdalpur–Koraput, Jharsuguda–Bilaspur Fourth Line, Rajnandgaon–Nagpur Third Line, Boridand–Ambikapur Doubling, and the significant Kharsia–Parmalkasa Fifth and Sixth Lines initiative.

In the past three years — 2022–2023, 2023–2024, 2024–2025 and the ongoing financial year 2025–2026 — the Railways has undertaken 61 surveys, including 26 new line surveys and 35 doubling surveys, covering 5,755 kilometres across Chhattisgarh.

The Ministry noted that multiple factors determine the sanction and timely completion of railway projects, including anticipated traffic projections, financial viability, land acquisition, forest and statutory clearances, shifting of utilities, geological and topographical considerations, law-and-order conditions and the number of workable months available at project sites. These factors, it said, directly affect project timelines and cost estimates.

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RDJ/KRV

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