The Centre is accelerating new railway line projects in Chhattisgarh's Ambikapur region. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted significant progress on three key projects and a 22-fold increase in budget allocation for the state.
In a major push to strengthen rail connectivity in Chhattisgarh, the Government of India has accelerated multiple new railway line projects in the Ambikapur region. This information was provided by the Minister of Railways, Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a reply to an Unstarred Question in the Lok Sabha.
Key Projects and Progress
Responding to the queries raised by Chintamani Maharaj, Member of Parliament, the Minister outlined the progress of surveys conducted by the South East Central Railway, Bilaspur Division, and the steps being taken for approval of new railway lines passing through Ambikapur. The Minister informed that three key projects aimed at improving connectivity to Ambikapur have already progressed significantly. The Boridand-Ambikapur (Surajpur) doubling project covering 80 kilometres has been taken up for execution. Detailed Project Reports have been prepared for the 262-kilometre Ambikapur-Ramanujganj-Barwadih new line with a spur to Garhwa Road, as well as for the 218-kilometre Sardega-Pathalgaon-Ambikapur new line.
Boost in Funding and Execution
Vaishnaw highlighted that budget allocation for infrastructure and safety-related works in Chhattisgarh has risen sharply. The allocation, which stood at ₹311 crore per year during 2009-2014, has increased to ₹6,925 crore in 2025-2026--over twenty-two times higher. He further informed that the pace of commissioning new track in the State has increased significantly. During 2009-2014, only 32 kilometres of track were commissioned (an average of 6.4 kilometres per year), whereas from 2014 to 2025, a total of 1,189 kilometres were commissioned (an average of 108.1 kilometres per year), marking an increase of more than fifteen times.
Overall Project Status in Chhattisgarh
As of 01 April 2025, twenty-six projects--including six new lines and twenty doubling/multitracking projects--covering a total length of 1,931 kilometres and costing ₹31,619 crore have been sanctioned in Chhattisgarh. Out of this, 1,023 kilometres have been commissioned, and ₹16,325 crore has been spent up to March 2025.
In the last three years and the current financial year (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26), twenty-six new railway line surveys covering 3,901 kilometres have been sanctioned in the South East Central Railway, including those passing through Ambikapur.
Project Sanction and Completion Factors
The Minister stated that sanction of railway projects is based on several parameters, including anticipated traffic, economic viability, first-and last-mile connectivity, bridging missing links, capacity augmentation of congested routes, demands from State Governments and public representatives, operational needs of Indian Railways, socio-economic considerations, and availability of funds.
He further added that the completion of projects depends on multiple factors such as land acquisition, forest clearances, shifting of utilities, statutory permissions, geological and topographical conditions, law and order situation, and the number of workable months available at the project site. These factors collectively influence the overall cost and timeline of railway projects. The Government reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening rail infrastructure in Chhattisgarh and ensuring timely progress of all sanctioned projects in the Ambikapur region. (ANI)
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