Lok Sabha Question No. 5399 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-25
Subject: Development of Rail Infrastructure in Chhattisgarh
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Brijmohan Agrawal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5399 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026

## DEVELOPMENT OF RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE IN CHHATTISGARH

## 5399. SHRI BRIJMOHAN AGRAWAL:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the status of progress of railway stations selected under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) in the country;
- (b)  whether  Government  is  aware  of  delay  in  ABSS  selected  stations  in Chhattisgarh and if so, the details of checks put in place to speed up the work to ensure the convenience to the citizens;
- (c)  the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  decongest  the existing railway lines in Chhattisgarh;
- (d)  the  details  of  completion  status  and  projected  economic  impact  of critical  local  line  expansions particularly for the  Dallirajhara-RowghatJagdalpur railway project;
- (e)  the  manner  in  which  these  combined  initiatives  (DFC,  HSR,  and  local expansions)  address  the  State's  ongoing  conflict  between  prioritizing bulk freight logistics and improving passenger train punctuality;
- (f) the details of the number of new railway trains to be added for the State including  expansion  of  frequency  of  existing  trains  such  as  DelhiBilaspur rajdhani express;
- (g) the expected increase in coal evacuation capacity upon completion of the ongoing railway corridor projects in the State; and
- (h)  the  timelines  set  for  completion  of  these  rail  infrastructure  projects aimed at strengthening energy supply logistics?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (h) Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for redevelopment of stations with a long-term approach.

§

The scheme involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations. The master planning includes:

-  Improvement of access to station and circulating areas
-  Integration of station with both sides of city
-  Improvement of station building
-  Improvement of waiting halls, toilets, sitting arrangement, water booths
-  Provision  of  wider  foot  over  bridge/air  concourse  commensurate with passenger traffic
-  Provision of lift/escalators/ramp
-  Improvement  /Provision of platform surface and cover over platforms
-  Provision of kiosks for local products through schemes like 'One Station One Product'
-  Parking areas, Multimodal integration
-  Amenities for Divyangjans
-  Better passenger information systems
-  Provision  of  executive  lounges,  nominated  spaces  for  business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station.

The  scheme  also  envisages  sustainable  and  environment  friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks etc. as per necessity, phasing and  feasibility  and  creation  of  city  centre  at  the  station  in  the  long term.

So  far,  1,338  stations  have  been  identified  for  development  under  the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Out of these, 32 stations are located in

Chhattisgarh.  The  name  of  stations  identified  under  Amrit  Bharat Station Scheme in Chhattisgarh are as following:

| State        |   No. of Stations | Name of Stations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|--------------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Chhattisgarh |                32 | Akaltara, Ambikapur, Baikunthpur Road, Balod, Baradwar, Belha, Bhanupratappur, Bhatapara, Bhilai, Bhilai Nagar, Bhilai Power House, Bilaspur, Champa, Dallirajhara, Dongargarh, Durg, Hathbandh, Jagdalpur, Janjgir Naila, Korba, Mahasamund, Mandir Hasaud, Marauda, Nipania, Pendra Road, Raigarh, Raipur Jn, Raj Nandgaon, Sarona, Tilda-Neora, Urkura, Uslapur |

## Completed stations:

Development  works  at  railway  stations  under  Amrit  Bharat  Station Scheme in Chhattisgarh have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, works  of  05  stations  have  been  completed.  The  name  of  stations completed in Chhattisgarh are as following:

| State        |   No. of stations | Name of stations                                      |
|--------------|-------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
| Chhattisgarh |                05 | Ambikapur, Bhanupratappur, Bhilai, Dongargarh, Urkura |

The activities for development at other stations have also been taken up at good pace and progress of some of the stations is as given below:

-  Bhilai  Power House station: The works of new second entry station building, improvement of main entry station building, platform upgradation, improvement of waiting areas, development of circulating area, parking, lifts, escalators and 12 m Foot Over Bridge have  been  completed.  The  finishing  works  of  station  building  and improvement of illumination on platforms have been taken up.
-  Dallirajhara  station:  The  works  of  improvement  of  station  building, waiting areas, toilet, platform upgradation and Public Address System have been completed. The works of improvement of circulating area, landscaping,  art  &  culture  works,  signage  and  improvement  of illumination on platforms have been taken up.
-  Raipur Junction station: The works of utility shifting and relocation at second  entry  side  have  been  completed.  The  structural  works  of second entry station building, multi level parking facility on both main and second entry side, service buildings and development of circulating area at second entry side have been taken up.
-  Sarona  station:  The  works  of  new  second  entry  station  building, improvement  of  main  entry  station  building,  platform  upgradation, improvement  of  waiting  areas,  development  of  circulating  area, parking, Public Address System, lifts, escalators and 12 m Foot Over Bridge have been completed. The finishing works of station building, landscaping, art &  culture and  improvement  of  illumination on platforms have been taken up.

Further redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of stations on Indian Railways is a continuous and ongoing process and works in this regard are

undertaken as per requirement, subject to inter-se priority and availability of funds. Development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of a station is carried out based on category of station/condition/traffic handled etc.

Indian Railways has a well established mechanism to monitor implementation  of  projects  including  their  reviews,  inspection,  check  for quality  of  works  and  audits.  Works  are  carried  out  adhering  to  the standards  and  specifications  laid  down  in  various  codes  and  manuals. Inspections/audits/checks  are  carried  out  from  time  to  time  by  various agencies/officials/multi-disciplinary  teams  as  per  laid  down  instructions and actions for correction including damages are taken immediately. This is a continuous and ongoing process.

Development / Upgradation of stations is complex in nature involving safety of passengers & trains and requires various statutory clearances such as fire  clearance, heritage, tree cutting, airport clearance etc. The progress also gets affected due to brownfield related challenges such as shifting of utilities (involving water/sewage lines, optical fibre cables, gas pipe lines, power/signal  cables, etc.), infringements, operation of trains without hindering passenger movement, speed restrictions due to works carried out in  close  proximity of  tracks  and  high  voltage  power  lines,  etc.  and  these factors affect the completion time.

Development  /  Upgradation  /  Modernization  of  stations  including  Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is generally funded under Plan Head-53 'Customer Amenities'. The details of allocation and expenditure under Plan Head-53 are  maintained  Zonal  Railway-wise  and  not  work-wise  or  station-wise  or state-wise.  Chhattisgarh is covered under  the jurisdiction of  two railway

zones,  namely,  South  East  Central  Railway  and  East  Coast  Railway.  For these  zones,  an  allocation  (RE)  of  ₹  1,163  crore  has  been  made  for  the financial year 2025-26, out of which an expenditure (up to February, 2026) of ₹ 974 crore has been incurred so far.

DFC Project

Ministry  of  Railways  has  taken  up  construction  of  two  Dedicated  Freight Corridors (DFC) viz. Eastern  Dedicated  Freight Corridor  (EDFC)  from Ludhiana  to  Sonnagar  (1337  km)  and  the  Western  Dedicated  Freight Corridor  (WDFC)  from  Jawaharlal  Nehru  Port  Terminal  (JNPT)  to  Dadri (1506 km).

The work on EDFC has been completed and commissioned. In WDFC, 1404 RKm out of total 1506 RKm has been completed and commissioned. The balance work on WDFC from Vaitarna-JNPT section (102 RKm) has been taken up.

DFC  has  contributed  to  creating  additional  paths  on  the  conventional network  by  diverting  freight  traffic  to  EDFC  and  WDFC.  Presently,  443 average trains per day are being run on these corridors.

Further,  recently  new  DFC  corridor between Dankuni and Surat has been announced. This corridor will pass through Chhattisgarh.

High-Speed Project

Presently, Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project (508 kms) passing through Maharashtra and Gujarat is under execution.

Further, to strengthen the national transport infrastructure and provide a fillip  to  regional  economic  growth,  the  Government  has  announced  the development of the following seven new High-Speed Rail (HSR) corridors in the Union Budget 2026-27:

(i) Mumbai-Pune

(ii) Pune-Hyderabad

(iii) Hyderabad-Bengaluru

(iv) Hyderabad-Chennai

(v) Chennai-Bengaluru

(vi) Delhi-Varanasi

(vii) Varanasi-Siliguri

HSR projects  are  highly  capital  intensive  and  any  decision  for  taking  up new project is based on many factors such as technical feasibility, financial & economic viability, traffic demand and availability of funds & financing options etc.

## Railway Budget

Budget allocation  in  the  recent  years  has  increased  significantly.  Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works falling fully/partly in the State of Chhattisgarh is as under:

| Period    | Outlay                          |
|-----------|---------------------------------|
| 2009-2014 | ₹311 Cr/year                    |
| 2025-2026 | ₹6,925 Cr ( More than 22 times) |

## Track Construction

The details of Commissioning/laying of new track falling fully/partly in the State of Chhattisgarh during 2009-14 and 2014-24 is as under:

| Period   | New Track Commissioned   | Average Commissioning of new tracks   |
|----------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 32 Km                    | 6.4 Km/Year                           |
| 2014-25  | 1189 Km                  | 108.1 Km/Year ( more than 15 times )  |

## Projects sanctioned

| Category               |   No. of projects | Total Length (in Km)   | Length Commissioned till March, 2025(in Km)   | Total Exp. upto March, 2025 (Rs. in Cr.)   |
|------------------------|-------------------|------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|
| New Line               |                 6 | 609                    | 184                                           | 6,154                                      |
| Doubling/Multitracking |                20 | 1,323                  | 839                                           | 10,171                                     |
| Total                  |                26 | 1,932                  | 1,023                                         | 16,325                                     |

As on 01.04.2025, 26 projects (06 New Line and 20 Doubling), covering total length of 1,932 Km length, costing ₹31,619 crore, falling fully/partly in the State of Chhattisgarh, have been sanctioned. The summary is as under:

Recently completed projects

Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in the State of Chhattisgarh are as under:

|   SN | Name of Project                                          | Cost (Rs. in Cr.)   |
|------|----------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|    1 | Kharsia-Dharamjaigarh New Line (100 Km)                  | 3,438               |
|    2 | Raipur-Titlagarh Doubling (203 Km)                       | 2,640               |
|    3 | Salka Road-Khongsara doubling (26 Km)                    | 181                 |
|    4 | Durg-Rajnandgaon doubling (31 Km)                        | 250                 |
|    5 | Khodri-Anuppur doubling with flyover at Bilaspur (72 Km) | 792                 |
|    6 | Bilaspur-Urkura 3rd line (110 Km)                        | 365                 |
|    7 | Champa-Jharsuguda 3rd Line (152 Km)                      | 1,227               |
|    8 | Pendra Road -Annupur 3rd Line (50 Km)                    | 394                 |

## Ongoing Projects

Details of some  of the projects falling fully/partly in the State of Chhattisgarh which have been taken up are as under:

|   S.No. | Name of Project                            | Total Cost (Cr)   |
|---------|--------------------------------------------|-------------------|
|       1 | Gevra Road-Pendra Road New Line (135 Km)   | 3,724             |
|       2 | Dharamjaigarh-Korba New Line (63 Km)       | 1,686             |
|       3 | Sardega-Bhalumunda New double Line (37 Km) | 1,282             |
|       4 | Kirandul-Jagdalpur Doubling (150 Km)       | 1,500             |
|       5 | Jagdalpur-Koraput Doubling (107 Km)        | 1,547             |
|       6 | Jharsuguda-Bilaspur -4th line (206 Km)     | 2,596             |
|       7 | Rajnandgaon-Nagpur 3 rd line (228 Km)      | 3,545             |
|       8 | Boridand- Ambikapur Doubling (80 Km)       | 1,243             |
|       9 | Rajnandgaon - Dongargarh 4th Line (31 Km)  | 328               |
|      10 | Bhatapara- Hathbandh 4th Line (16 Km)      | 177               |

|   S.No. | Name of Project                                | Total Cost (Cr)   |
|---------|------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
|      11 | Kharsia - Parmalkasa 5th and 6th line (278 Km) | 7,854             |

Further, Railway has taken up the work of Dallirajhara-Rowghat-Jagdalpur new  line  project  (235  Km).  An  expenditure  of  Rs.  1028  Cr.  has  been incurred upto March 2025 and an outlay of Rs. 85 Cr. has been provided for this project for the financial year 2025-26. Status of the project is as under:

| Section                     | Status                              |
|-----------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| Dallirajhara-Taroki (77 Km) | Commissioned.                       |
| Taroki-Rowghat (18 Km)      | Work has been completed.            |
| Rowghat-Jagdalpur (140 Km)  | Land acquisition has been taken up. |

Sanction  of  any  railway  project  depends  upon  many  parameters/factors which include the following:

-  Anticipated traffic projections and remunerativeness of the proposed route
-  First and last mile connectivity provided by the project
-  Connection of missing links and providing additional route
-  Augmentation of congested/saturated lines
-  Demands raised by State Governments/Central Ministries/Public representatives,
-  Railway's operational requirements
-  Socio-economic considerations
-  Overall availability of funds

Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include the following:

-  Land acquisition by State Government
-  Forest clearance
-  Shifting of infringing utilities
-  Statutory clearances from various authorities
-  Geological and topographical conditions of area
-  Law and order situation in the area of project site
-  Number of working months in a year for particular project site etc.

All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project/s.

## New Railway Trains

As  the  Railways  network  straddles  across  State  boundaries,  trains  are operated  across  such  boundaries  as  per  network  requirement.  However, Indian  Railways  consistently  endeavors  to  augment  and  strengthen  train connectivity on its network.

At  present,  New  Delhi-Bilaspur  sector  is  served  by  09  pairs  of  train services  including  the  bi-weekly  services  of  12441/12442  New  Delhi Bilaspur  Rajdhani  Express  and  daily  services  of  18477/78  Kalinga  Utkal Express and 18237/38 Chhatisgarh Express.

|   SN | Train No. & Name                                         |
|------|----------------------------------------------------------|
|    1 | 12409/12410 Hazrat Nizamuddin - Raigarh Gondwana Express |
|    2 | 12441/12442 New Delhi-Bilaspur Rajdhani Express          |

|   3 | 12823/12824 Hazrat Nizamuddin - Durg Chhattisgarh Sampark Kranti Express   |
|-----|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   4 | 12549/12550 Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan-Durg Express                     |
|   5 | 18237/18238 Bilaspur - Amritsar Chhattisgarh Express                       |
|   6 | 22867/22868 Hazrat Nizamuddin - Durg Humsafar Express                      |
|   7 | 20847/20848 Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan - Durg Express                   |
|   8 | 20807/20808 Amritsar - Visakhapatnam Hirakund Express                      |
|   9 | 18477/18478 Yog Nagari Rishikesh - Puri Kalinga Utkal Express              |

Besides, introduction of new trains/increase in frequency of  train services is an on-going process, which depends on various factors including-

-  Capacity of that section
-  Availability of path
-  Availability of required rolling stock
-  Availability of matching infrastructure for rolling stock
-  Maintenance requirement of railway tracks and other assets.
-  Occupancy and the traffic requirement of the section.

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