Rowghat in Chhattisgarh gets its first train since Independence as new rail line opens

Rowghat in southern Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district saw its first passenger train arrive on Tuesday, marking the first time the remote Bastar region has been linked to the national railway network since Independence.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai flagged off the inaugural passenger service from Raipur railway station, while Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw joined the ceremony virtually from New Delhi. The event opened two key routes: the newly finished Tadoki-Rowghat section and the broad-gauge Abhanpur-Kurud line.

What the new rail lines deliver

The launch completes the 95-km Dallirajhara-Rowghat railway corridor, built at a cost of roughly ₹1,628 crore. While regular passenger trains had already been running across the 77.5-km stretch from Dallirajhara to Tadoki, the final 17.5-km extension to Rowghat was completed last month.

Built as a joint venture between the Chhattisgarh government, NMDC, SAIL and Indian Railways, the corridor serves a dual purpose. It provides tribal communities in Bastar with direct passenger transport to the state capital, while unlocking vital iron ore reserves in the Rowghat hills to feed domestic steel production, including SAIL's Bhilai Steel Plant.

Alongside the Bastar link, authorities inaugurated the 22-km Abhanpur-Kurud broad-gauge section. That stretch is part of the broader Abhanpur-Dhamtari gauge conversion project, where work on the remaining segment between Kurud and Dhamtari is ongoing.

Network expansion across Chhattisgarh

The Tadoki-Rowghat section forms the first half of a larger 240-km corridor planned to reach Jagdalpur. Vaishnaw confirmed that land acquisition for the Rowghat-Jagdalpur phase will proceed on priority, ultimately creating a direct freight and passenger corridor linking Chhattisgarh to Koraput in Odisha and the port city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

Vaishnaw said ongoing railway projects across Chhattisgarh currently total roughly ₹57,000 crore, supported by an allocation exceeding ₹7,000 crore in the latest railway budget. The state's rail network has also achieved 100% route electrification.

During Tuesday's event, Sai also laid the foundation stone for an electric locomotive maintenance depot in Raipur. The facility will service up to 300 high-horsepower electric engines, including modern 9,000-hp freight locomotives built to international specifications.