Lohardaga was previously disconnected from the railway map and depended solely on one train until a few years ago. Now, trains such as the Rajdhani Express and those heading to Bihar are stopping here, providing relief for locals who often migrate to other states to find work due to unemployment.
For the residents of Lohardaga and Gumla districts, improved railway connectivity became a significant consideration when candidates promised to push for a long-standing demand?a new railway line connecting Lohardaga to Korba in Chhattisgarh, which would further enhance connectivity in the region. In 2021, the Indian Railways officially started operations on the 32km Godda-Hansdiha railway route, marking the first time Godda was connected to the railway network since Independence.
The railway connectivity between Jharkhand and South India is expected to improve further in the coming years upon completion of the doubling work of the 158 km route linking Hatia railway station in Ranchi and Bondamunda in Odisha. A railway official reported that the project, which began in 2016 with a total budget of Rs 19.24 billion, has completed nearly 50% of the commissioning work.
Earlier this year, the Indian Railways announced that Rs 72.34 billion was allocated for infrastructure development in Jharkhand for the current financial year. Ranchi?s outgoing MP, Sanjay Seth, stated that railway connectivity has improved with the introduction of Vande Bharat trains from Ranchi to Patna, Kolkata, and Varanasi. He also noted that an infrastructure overhaul of 35 railway stations is underway, and Ranchi is being developed into a world-class station at a cost of Rs 4.47 billion.
