The only progress on 294 km Katghora-Dongargarh new railway line in Chhattisgarh since 2018 when it was first planned is that the project has changed hands from Indian Railways to a joint venture with State Government, Chhattisgarh Rail Corporation Limited (CSRCL). That sums up the story of Indian Railways’ plan aimed at decongestion of Nagpur-Howrah route. The 294.53 kms remains on planning board as Railways could not make much headway in absence of required permission for acquisition of land. As per information, the project was first sanctioned by Union Cabinet way back in September 2018. But till date, not a single kilometre of track has been laid even as project cost continues to soar, now pegged at Rs 5950.47 crore.

 

Planned as an electrified board gauge corridor, the planners in Railways envisaged it to take off considerable load on the Dongargarh-Raipur corridor of Bombay-Howrah route. Same would have ensured that the current stagnation due to jumbling of Mail/Express and priority to ensure faster movement of coal rakes, a necessity to ensure that power houses do not fall short of necessary raw material. Coming under the jurisdiction of South East Central Railway, the Bilaspur-Durg section is one of the most saturated corridors of Indian Railways. The main reason is the movement of coal. Bilaspur Division accounts for movement of nearly 90 per cent of coal, plus in addition, the steel freight causes immense pressure on adjusting the time table of long distance passenger carrying trains.

 

So the thinking in Rail Bhavan was to go for alternative routes, so that main route can remain clear for fast moving Mail/Express trains. Particularly, a chicken neck sort of situation is formed near Jharsuguda wherein coal rakes coming from Korba try to get past the Mail/Express trains coming from Howrah and thereafter those starting from Bilaspur section. Despite the considerable expansion of third and fourth lines from Bilaspur till Jharsuguda, the continuous growth in goods rakes, means there is urgent need to have alternate rail corridors, said the rail experts. From the time it was sanctioned first, the Construction Organisation at Raipur Division of SECR completed preliminary processes including survey work, alignment planning and administrative formalities. The PET was completed and thereafter final location survey was taken up and thereafter Railways gave the green signal. But then the much needed political action needed to push the railway project further ahead could not take off owing to multiple reasons.

 

The alignment that was finalised, as learnt by The Hitavada, runs through Korba, Bilaspur, Mungeli, Kabirdham and Rajnandgaon districts. Land requirement estimated is stated to be around 1,794 hectares across 195 villages. Notifications were issued for final rail route alignment in 179 villages but acquisition has not been completed due to compensation related issues at multiple locations. The corridor plan includes 27 stations covering locations such as Dongargarh, Khairagarh, Gandai, Kawardha, Mungeli and Ratanpur. Freight handling capacity has been estimated at 30 to 35 million tonnes annually. The project carried initial completion target of September 30, 2025 as per earlier target. But as of now, no physical progress has been recorded within this period.

 

Initially, execution was assigned to Chhattisgarh Railway Corporation Limited under a joint venture framework. But State Government, it is learnt, is keen that Railways itself takes-up the new line project and plans are afoot to transfer the project to South East Central Railway. The latest Railway Budget mentioned that CRCL is entrusted the new line project. In case, State Government wants to hand back the project to Railways, then again a new survey might be contemplated to cross checks in case any changes are need. The earlier project structure included participation from Mahagenco, ACB and SECL. These entities are not part of the project at present.