In a major expansion, the Ministry of Railways is set to connect four districts of Jharkhand by rail for the first time since independence. These districts will come under the Ranchi division, as per the statement by the ministry. According to reports, the preliminary survey report for the project has been submitted by Jharkhand Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (JRIDCL) to the Railway Board for a detailed project report (DPR).
The districts that are to be connected by rail are Gumla, Khunti, Simdega, and Chatra. While Gumla, Khunti and Simdega will be connected to the existing Ranchi-Lohardaga rail line, Chatra will be connected to a railroad along the Ranchi-Hazaribagh rail route.
According to the details in the report, a 55 km rail line will be laid from Lohardaga to Gumla, 20 km from Hatia to Khunti, 43 km from Gumla to Simdega, and 42 km from Hazaribagh to Chatra.
The project was spearheaded under the Union Cabinet decision in August 2024 in which three railway projects worth nearly Rs 6,500 crore were passed. These projects included setting up of two new lines and one multi-tracking project covering seven districts in four States-- Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.