Parliament Question: Katghora–Dongargarh New Rail Line Project

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2828 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.08.2026 KATGHORA–DONGARGARH NEW RAIL LINE PROJECT †2828. SHRI SANTOSH PANDEY: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Katghora-Dongargarh new railway line project in Chhattisgarh is currently pending at any level and if so, the details thereof; (b) whether this project is pending at Railway Board or any other level and if so, the reasons therefor; (c) the details of approvals, sanctions and clearances yet to be obtained/pending for the implementation of the project; (d) whether the Government has received any proposal from Chhattisgarh Government regarding amendment in alignment or other aspects of the project and if so, the action taken thereon; (e) the current estimated cost of the project and whether any amendment has been made to it since its initial approval; and (f) the likely timeline for starting the construction work of the project and granting the remaining approvals? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (f): Katghora – Dongargarh New Broad Gauge Electrified Rail Line Project (294Km.) has been sanctioned on debt (75%) - equity (25%) basis at a cost of ₹ 5,950 Cr. The project is being executed by Chhattisgarh Railway Corporation Limited (CRCL), a Joint Venture of Govt. of Chhattisgarh (51%) and Ministry of Railways (49%). Page 1 of 4 §There was issue of the alignment of the project earlier, therefore, the project could not start. Now the issue has been resolved. In the recent meeting between Hon’ble Chief Minister/Chhattisgarh and Minister of Railways, it has been decided to take up the work as per the original approved alignment. CHHATTISGARH 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 2026-2027 ₹7,470 Cr. (approx. 24 times) Track Construction: The details of commissioning/laying of new track falling fully/partly in the State of Chhattisgarh is as under: New Track Average Commissioning of new Period Commissioned tracks 2009-14 32 Km 6.4 Km per year 2014-26 1,311 Km 109.29 Km per year (17 times) Projects Sanctioned: As on 01.04.2026, 36 projects (8 New Lines and 28 Doubling), of total length of 2,398 Km, costing ₹48,202 crore falling fully/partly in the State of Chhattisgarh are Sanctioned. The summary is as under:- Page 2 of 4Category No. of Total Length Commissioned Total Exp upto projects Length till March, 2026 (in March 2026 (in km) Km) (₹in cr.) NL 8 887 262 7,535 DL 28 1,512 889 11,298 TOTAL 36 2,398 1,151 18,833 Recently Completed Projects: Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in the state of Chhattisgarh are as under: S.No. Name of Project Cost (₹in cr.) 1 Kharsia-Korichhapar New Line (43 Km) 851 2 Bilaspur-Urkura 3rd line (110 Km) 365 3 Salka Road-Khongsara doubling (26 Km) 181 4 Durg-Rajnandgaon Doubling (31 Km) 250 5 Khodri-Anuppur Doubling with flyover at Bilaspur 792 (72 Km) 6 Champa-Jharsuguda 3rd Line (152 Km) 1,227 7 Pendra Road-Annupur 3rd Line (50 Km) 394 8 Raipur-Titlagarh Doubling (203 Km) 1,171 9 Dallirajahra-Rowghat (95 Km) 1,628 Ongoing Projects: Some of the major projects falling fully/partly in the State of Chhattisgarh which have been taken up are as under: S.N Name of Project Cost (₹in cr.) 1 Kharsia-Dharamjaygarh New Line (122 Km) 3,407 Page 3 of 42 Gevra Road-Pendra Road New Line (135 Km) 3,724 3 Dharamjaigarh-Korba New Line (63 Km) 1,686 4 Chirimiri-Nagpur Halt New Line (17 Km) 670 5 Sardega-Bhalumunda New Line (37 Km) 1,282 6 Kharsia-Parmalkasa 5th and 6th line (278 Km) 7,854 7 Rowghat-Jagdalpur New Line (140 Km) 3,513 8 Kirandul-Jadgalpur Doubling (150 km) 1,780 9 Jagdalpur-Koraput Doubling (107 Km) 1,547 10 Jharsuguda-Bilaspur 4th line (206 Km) 2,596 11 Gevra Rd-Pendra Rd Doubling (135 Km) 3,475 12 Rajnandgaon-Nagpur 3rd line (228 Km) 3,545 13 Raipur-Dhamtari&Abhanpur-Rajim gauge 3,250 conversion (67.20 Km) 14 Boridand-Ambikapur Doubling (80 Km) 1,577 15 Durg-Rajnandgaon 4th line (31 Km) 464 16 Gondia-Dongargarh 4th line (84 Km) 2,223 17 Baikunth-Urkura 4th line (26 Km) 426 18 Champa-Korba 3rd Line (42 Km) 755 Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include the following:  Land acquisition  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. ***** Page 4 of 4