Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Vishnu Deo Sai flagged off Rowghat-Raipur and Raipur-Kurud Passenger train services from Raipur Railway Station on Tuesday. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw virtually attended the programme. Congratulating the people of Chhattisgarh on the historic occasion, Chief Minister Sai said railway infrastructure development in the State has gained unprecedented momentum under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that the Centre and State Governments, working together under the double-engine governance model, are committed to ensuring that modern railway facilities reach not only major cities but also remote and tribal regions, including Bastar and Surguja.

 

The Rowghat-Raipur and Raipur-Kurud services would strengthen the State’s connectivity and open new avenues for development. In his virtual address, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that extensive work is underway to develop railway infrastructure in Chhattisgarh under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Railway development projects worth approximately Rs 54,000 crore are currently underway in the state. This year, Chhattisgarh has received a railway budget allocation of Rs 7,470 crore. He said that the establishment of rail connectivity to Rowghat and the launch of the Rowghat-Raipur and Raipur-Kurud passenger services are important milestones in this broader development journey.

 

Efforts are also underway to extend railway connectivity from Rowghat to Jagdalpur, he added. Chief Minister Sai said that a narrow-gauge service had previously operated between Raipur and Dhamtari. The conversion of the route to broad gauge represents important progress towards providing passengers with modern and improved rail services. Once the remaining work between Kurud and Dhamtari is completed, the extension of passenger rail services from Raipur to Dhamtari will move closer to fruition. The foundation stone for a modern electric locomotive maintenance facility was also laid in the programme. Raipur MP Brijmohan Agrawal, Mahasamund MP Roopkumari Choudhary, Rajya Sabha Member Laxmi Verma, Kanker Member Bhojraj Nag, MLAs Rajesh Munat, Motilal Sahu and Purandar Mishra, former MP and MLA Vikram Usendi, South East Central Railway General Manager Tarun Prakash and a large number of dignitaries and public representatives were present on the occasion.