India’s Government has approved a USD 820 million (Rs. 5950.47 crore) project for the electrification of a 294.5 km line linking Katghora to Dongargarh. The electrification of the line will provide efficient rail connectivity to unserved areas of Chhattishgarh, an Indian state situated in centre-east of the country. Five districts of Chhattisgarh, such as Korba, Bilaspur, Mungeli, Kabirdham and Rajnandgaon will have rail links by provided by the line. In addition, this line will allow efficient freight transport from industrial areas
The new line will allow industrial development through movement of freight to the busy Jharsuguda-Nagpur section of Howrah Mumbai route by avoiding busy yards of Bilaspur, Champa and Durg stations.
With opening up of Raigarh District to coal mining, it is expected that South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. and various end use miners will increase coal mining in Chhattisgarh State from the present 150 million tonnes per year to 250 million tonnes per year in near future.
This project will reduce congestion on the existing Jharsuguda-Nagpur route which has more than 135% average utilization as on 2014-15. This will add nearly 30-35 million tonnes per year to system of Indian Railways which is nearly 3% of its present output. It will also provide a faster dedicated route to west bound traffic of South East Central Railway, serve unserved areas of the State of Chhattisgarh and facilitate setting up of industry along the route. This is the first project of its kind and magnitude to be undertaken through the State Joint Venture route.
The project will be implemented by Chhattisgarh Katghora-Dongarhgarh Railway Limited, a joint venture between Ministry of Railways (MoR) and Chhattisgarh Government on 49:51 basis.
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