States » NorthPosted at: Oct 20 2026 9:31PM


Chhattisgarh's Rowghat joins India's railway map

Raipur, Oct 20 (UNI) Chhattisgarh's Rowghat has been put on India's railway map, ending a wait of more than seven decades for rail connectivity in the remote tribal belt. The new link is expected to make travel easier for people in southern Chhattisgarh and improve access to the state capital.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai flagged off passenger services between Raipur and Rowghat and Raipur and Kurud at Raipur railway station on Tuesday.
The programme also marked the opening of the Tadoki-Rowghat and Abhanpur-Kurud rail sections, alongside the foundation-laying ceremony for an electric locomotive maintenance facility in Raipur.
For communities in North Bastar and adjoining areas, the arrival of rail services could mean more than a convenient journey. Better links with major cities may help local businesses reach wider markets, make education and healthcare more accessible and create opportunities in tourism and industry.
"Rail reaching Rowghat is not merely the completion of a project; it opens up new possibilities for Bastar," CM Sai said. He said the expansion of railway infrastructure under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership should bring modern transport facilities to remote tribal regions, including Bastar and Surguja, rather than confine them to major cities.
Vaishnaw said railway projects worth about ₹54,000 crore are being implemented in Chhattisgarh. The state has received an allocation of ₹7,470 crore in the railway budget for the current financial year, he added. The railway ministry is also working towards extending the line from Rowghat to Jagdalpur, a move that could strengthen links between southern Chhattisgarh and major economic centres.
The Raipur-Kurud passenger service follows the conversion of around 22 km of track between Abhanpur and Kurud to broad gauge under the Abhanpur-Dhamtari gauge-conversion project.
CM Sai said that the current work is part of the transition from the earlier narrow-gauge link between Raipur and Dhamtari. Once the remaining section between Kurud and Dhamtari is completed, the service can be extended to Dhamtari.
Chhattisgarh has added around 1,328 km of railway tracks since 2014, Sai said. The state's annual railway allocation has also risen from around ₹300 crore before 2014 to more than ₹7,000 crore, he added.
Modernisation work is under way at 32 railway stations, eight of which have been completed. Other projects include new railway lines, track doubling and electrification. The proposed maintenance facility in Raipur is designed to service 300 high-horsepower electric locomotives. It is expected to expand maintenance capacity as freight transport demand grows.
Sai said projects such as the Rowghat-Jagdalpur line would bring more parts of the state within reach of the railway network. Improved connectivity, he said, would help students travel for education, patients reach healthcare facilities and farmers and local producers move their goods to larger markets.
Raipur MP Brijmohan Agrawal, Mahasamund MP Roopkumari Choudhary, Rajya Sabha MP Laxmi Verma, Kanker MP Bhojraj Nag, legislators and senior railway officials attended the programme.
UNI SRC CDS
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