Sidhi Joins the Railway Map for the First Time Since Independence as Devendranagar–Churhat Train Is Flagged Off
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav opened the Satna–Devendranagar and Rewa–Churhat sections, a 118-km link that connects Sidhi district to the railway network for the first time since independence.
Sidhi district in the Vindhya region of Madhya Pradesh has been connected to the railway network for the first time since India's independence. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav inaugurated two new rail sections on Saturday, October 24, and flagged off a new train service between Devendranagar and Churhat.
The Satna–Devendranagar section is 53 kilometres long, and the Rewa–Churhat section is 65 kilometres long. Together they form a line of 118 kilometres. Churhat lies in Sidhi district, so the opening ends a long wait for a region that had no railway station of its own.
The inaugural MEMU train was decorated like a bride at Nagaud station to mark the occasion. The report on which this article is based was still being updated when it was published and did not give the timetable or fares, which passengers should check with the railway.
For Sidhi, a rail link is expected to ease travel to Rewa, Satna and beyond, and to make it cheaper to move farm produce, coal and other goods. Students, workers and small traders who have depended on buses and private vehicles can now consider the train.
Other reports describe the Satna–Devendranagar section as part of the larger Lalitpur–Singrauli new rail line project, which is meant to connect several districts of Bundelkhand and the Vindhya region.
The opening is also a political and symbolic moment in the region, and local leaders have called it a Diwali gift. Its real value will depend on how often trains run, how well they connect with main-line services and how quickly stations and feeder roads are developed around them.
