ROURKELA: The proposed Sardega-Pathalgaon-Ambikapur rail line through Sundargarh district continues to wait for approval from the Railway ministry, while another project planned around the same time has been fast-tracked, according to a Rail Vikash Sangram Samiti (RVSS) member.
Incidentally, detailed project reports (DPRs) for the 218 km Sardega-Pathalgaon-Ambikapur line (in Odisha and Chhattisgarh) and the 291.88 km Dharamjaigarh-Pathalgaon-Lohardaga line (in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand) were completed around the same time in late 2025.
“The Dharamjaigarh-Pathalgaon-Lohardaga proposed line has made significant progress, with the ministry issuing gazette notification on June 4, 2026,” said RVSS general secretary Dhruba Kalo. He claimed the Sardega-Pathalgaon-Ambikapur project file is gathering dust in the Railway Board due to lack of political pressure from the Sundargarh side.
The RVSS comprising members from Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh acts as a pressure group pushing for improved rail connectivity through these states.
Kalo said the railway ministry’s approach towards the Sardega-Pathalgaon-Amibikapur was “step-motherly”. Kalo said the RVSS plans to approach the newly appointed member for the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways and Rajya Sabha member, Dilip Ray, to take up the issue with the ministry. Kalo added Union Tribal Affairs minister and Sundargarh MP Jual Oram too would be urged to renew the demand with the railway minister.
Kalo said Chhattisgarh is poised for major railway infrastructure development largely due to consistent efforts from its chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai.
Quoting a parliamentary reply of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on December 3, 2025, Kalo noted in all 26 surveys were sanctioned for new rail lines spanning 3,901 km under the South East Central Railway (SECR) between March 2022 and March 2025. “Several of the surveyed lines have either got sanctions or ready for implementation,” he added.
According to sources, the SECR completed the DPR for the Sardega-Pathalgaon-Ambikapur new rail line after almost five decades of fight for the project.
The proposed line starting from Sardega in Hemgir block to till Banujore in Balishankara block of Sundargarh district has a total length of around 78 km in Odisha. The proposal envisages covering unconnected pockets of Sundargarh, especially the district headquarter town.
Separately, the DPR for the Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh) to Renukoot (UP) new line of 144 km is also in the pipeline. Integration of the upcoming Ambikapur-Renukoot line with the Sardega-Pathalgaon-Ambikapur line would ensure direct and shortest railway route from Sardega to Delhi. Sardega is already connected to Jharsuguda station on the busy Howrah-Mumbai main line, while the proposed Ambikapur-Renukoot line envisages meeting the busy Howrah-Delhi main line at Renukoot.
Sundargarh MLA Jogesh Singh said, “The people of Sundargarh town and neighbouring rural pockets are forced to travel 30 to 45 km to Jharsuguda station to take a train. They desperately need this proposed railway line.”