Dalli Rajhara–Jagdalpur rail line, is an under-construction long broad-gauge railway track in

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

state of India connecting existing railways stations at

Dalli Rajhara Dalli-Rajhara is a town and a municipality in Balod district in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. Dalli Rajhara is home of iron ore captive mines for Bhilai Steel Plant, the largest integrated steel plant in India. Dalli mines deposit was discove ...

(on Dalli Rajhara-

Durg Durg is a city in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, east of the Shivnath River and is part of the Durg- Bhilai urban agglomeration. With an urban population of 1,064,077, Durg- Bhilai is the second largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Rai ...

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chh ...

line) in north to

Jagdalpur Jagdalpur is a city located in the southern part of Chhattisgarh state in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Bastar district and Bastar division. Before the independence of India, it also served as the capital of the erstw ...

( Kothavalasa–Jagdalpur-Kirandul line) in South.

History

The catalyst for the construction of this rail track were the Rowghat Mines, aimed to provide iron ore supply to NMDC's Nagarnar Steel Plant near

. Since the development of Rowghat Mines saw various delays, resulting in corresponding delays in the construction of this rail line.

Rowaghat mines

In 1983, the

Steel Authority of India Limited Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is an Indian Public sector undertakings in India, public sector steel manufacturing corporation based in New Delhi. It is the largest Government of India, government-owned steel producer, with an annual pr ...

(SAIL) made the application for development Rowghat mines, and the

Ministry of Environment and Forests The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Government of India, Indian government Ministry (government department), ministry. The ministry Portfolio (government), portfolio is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union ...

(MoEF) granted in principle environmental clearance only in 1996 after a delay of 13 years. In 1998, an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among Railway,

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

State Government (from which Chhattisgarh state was later formed on 1 November 2000),

National Mineral Development Corporation NMDC Limited, formerly National Mineral Development Corporation, is an Indian public sector undertaking involved in the exploration of iron ore, rock, gypsum, magnesite, diamond, tin, tungsten, graphite, coal etc. It is India's largest iron ore ...

(NMDC) and SAIL was signed for the construction. Following a 2004 request by MoEF to the submit fresh application for forestry and environment clearance for the Rowaghat Mines, SAIL submitted the revised application to MoeF in 2007, which referred it to the Supreme Court in 2007, and in 2008 the Supreme Court granted the final consent for forestry clearance of Rowghat Mines. In October 2009, mining lease for F Block of Rowghat Mines was granted to SAIL for a period of 20 years, this provided the impetus for the Dalli Rajhara-Jagdalpur line also.

Naxal insurgency

Project, after facing many years of procedural and clearance related hurdles, also faced stiff resistance and opposition from Naxalite–Maoist insurgents, who fear that the construction of the rail track will speed up the economic development thereby eradicating the insurgency from the region. Since 2014, 2 Battalions (28th & 33rd) of

Sashastra Seema Bal The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB; ) is a Central Armed Police Forces, central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding Border guard, India’s borders with Indi ...

(SSB) have been deployed in the Balod and Kanker district of Chhattisgarh to provide protection for the construction of Dalli Rajhara to Rowghat railway lines of 95 km. In February 2016 and May 2017, two troopers of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) were injured after an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

(IED) planted by Maoists went off in the project area.

Details

Significance

Dalli Rajhara–Jagdalpur rail line, in addition to catering to the passenger and goods transport, will also supply iron ore from the Rowghat Mines to SAIL's

Bhilai Steel Plant The Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), located in Bhilai, in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, is India's first and main producer of steel rails, as well as a major producer of wide steel plates and other steel products. The plant also produces steel and ...

and also to Nagarnar Steel Plant near Jagdalpur. Jagdalpur, about 300 km by road from Raipur, has no direct rail connectivity, and a 622 km circuitous rail route from Jagdalpur to Raipur is via

Koraput Koraput is a town and a Municipality in Koraput district in the Indian state of Odisha. Koraput town is the district headquarter of Koraput district. History The district of Koraput derives its name from its headquarters in the present town o ...

and

Rayagada Rayagada is a municipality in Rayagada district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of Rayagada district. History The city of Rayagada was founded by King Vishwanath Dev Gajapati (1527-1531 CE) of the Suryava ...

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

which takes about 16 hours. Dalli Rajhara–Jagdalpur rail line will shorten the distance between Raipur to Jagdalpur to which will take just 6 hrs 30 mins to travel.

Construction

Construction is being undertaken in the following two phases: * Phase-1 Dalli Rajhara- Rowghat Mines, , constructed by RVNL (Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd). Dalli Rajhara-Gudum-Bhanupratapur was completed in 2018, Bhanupratappur-Keoti in 27 Mar 2019, Keoti-Antagarh in August 2020, Antagarh-Tadoki in Aug 2023. * Phase-2 Rowaghat-Jagdalpur, , constructed by IRCON (Indian Railway Construction Organisation).

Route

Dalli-Rajhara-Rowaghat section

Durg district Durg district is a district situated in Chhattisgarh, India. The district headquarters is Durg. The district covers an area of 2,238 km². As of 2011 it is the second most populous district of Chhattisgarh (out of Districts of Chhattisgarh ...

** Dalli-Rajhara railway station , existing railway station. *

Kanker district Uttar Bastar Kanker District is located in the southern region of the state of Chhattisgarh, India within the latitudes 20.6-20.24 and longitudes 80.48-81.48. The total area of the district is 6432 square kilometers. The population is 748,941. The ...

** Salhaitola ** Gudum (near Dondi) ** Bhanupratappur ** Keoti ** Antagarh ** Taroki/Tadoki/Tadokee ** Rowghat

Rowaghat-Jagdalpur section

This section has the following 13 stations: * Kanker district ** Rowghat *

Narayanpur district Narayanpur district is one of the 33 districts of Chhattisgarh State in Central India. It is one of the two districts created on May 11, 2007. It was carved out from the erstwhile Bastar district. This district occupies an area of 6640 km2 an ...

** Narayanpur *

Kondagaon district Kondagaon district is a district of Chhattisgarh, India, and separated from Bastar district on 24 January 2012. with headquarters in Kondagaon. It is mostly renowned for its bell metal craft and other art forms native to the tribal of Bastar. It ...

** Chandganv ** Barnda / Baranda ** Jugani **

Kondagaon Kondagaon a municipality about 70 kilometers from Jagdalpur city is the headquarter of Kondagaon district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is the third largest city of Bastar division. Kondagaon separated from Bastar district on 24 Jan ...

** Baniyagaon ** Dhikonga / Dahikonga ** Bhanpuri *

Bastar district Bastar is a district in the state of Chhattisgarh in Central India. Jagdalpur is the district headquarters. Bastar is bounded on the northwest by Narayanpur District, on the north by Kondagaon district, on the east by Nabarangpur and Koraput ...

** Sonarpal ** Bastar ** Kudkanar **

Jagdalpur railway station Jagdalpur is a city located in the southern part of Chhattisgarh state in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Bastar district and Bastar division. Before the independence of India, it also served as the capital of the erstwh ...

, existing station at Jagdalpur, the administrative head office of Bastar district.

Current status

* 2023 Aug: Phase-1 Dalli Rajhara-Tadoki section completed and trains became operational, Tadoki-Rowghat section was under-construction. * 2025 May: Phase-2 Rowghat-Jagdalpur section, costing INR3,513 was approved by the railway minister.3.5 cr project moves forward: Bastar to get rail connectivity
Times of India, 10 May 2025. Survey was already complete in 2018, and Detailed Project Report (DPR) was commissioned.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalli Rajhara-Jagdalpur rail line Rail transport in Chhattisgarh Steel Authority of India Proposed railway lines in India