Kothavalasa–Kirandul line

In 1960, Indian Railway took up three projects: the Kothavalasa–Araku–Koraput–Jeypore–Jagdalpur–Dantewara–Kirandaul line, the Jharsuguda–Sambalpur–Bargarh–Balangir–Titlagarh project and the Biramitrapur–Rourkela–Bimlagarh–Kiriburu project. All the three projects taken together were popularly known as the DBK Project or the Dandakaranya–Bolangir–Kiriburu project.^[1] The Kothavalasa–Kirandaul line was opened in 1966–67 under S E Railway with financial aid of Japan for transporting iron ore and costed 55.32 crore.^[2]

This line passes hill sections of Eastern Ghats through Araku Valley. The line has a total of 58 tunnels and 84 major bridges and each tunnel is as long as 520 metres.

Electrification of the line was completed in four phases. Kirandul–Jagdalpur section was completed in 1980. Jagdalpur–Koraput section was completed in 1981. Koraput–Araku–Waltair section was completed in 1982. The Kothavalasa–Kirandul route was completely electrified by 1982.^[3]

The line has a length of 445 km (277 mi). Only a small section of 9 km (5.6 mi) from Kothavalasa up to Mallividu is part of the South Coast Railway. The remaining 436 km (271 mi), comprising the vast majority of the corridor, is managed by the Rayagada division of the East Coast Railway. This remainder includes main stations like Araku, Koraput junction, Jeypore, Jagdalpur 444 km (276 mi) in Chhattisgarh up to Kirandul. Although a portion of the Rayagada-managed section physically lies within Andhra Pradesh, it remains under the jurisdiction of the East Coast Railway. The maximum route length is in Chhattisgarh, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Odisha."CITU calls South Coast Railway zone a "betrayal" of Andhra Pradesh". The Hindu. 10 May 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026. The Kothavalasa–Kirandul section is classified as a Group E-special class line where speeds are restricted to below 100 km/h.

This line is mainly used for freight purposes which is a huge profit benefitting Waltair Division. It generated ₹2,252 crore (US$230 million) in freight earnings in 2022-23 which is a little over 25% of the total freight earnings of Waltair railway division in that financial year.^[4] Iron ore from Bailadila is transported to Visakhapatnam through this line.^[5]

Legend

km to Pendruti 0 Kothavalasa to Vizianagaram Junction 9 Mallividu 15 Lakkavarupukota 26 Shrungavarupukota 33 Boddavara 45 Shivalingapuram 52 Tyada 62 Chimidipalli 71 Borra Guhalu 82 Karakavalasa 90 Shimiliguda 103 Araku 112 Gorapur Andhra Pradesh Odisha 125 Darliput 135 Padua 145 Bheja 156 Machhakunda 169 Paliba 177 Suku (SXV) 177 Suku (SUKU) 188 Koraput Junction to Rayagada 189 Koraput Cabin B 195 Manabar 204 Jarti 215 Maligura 222 Chattriput 229 Jeypore 238 Dhanapur Orissa 246 Khadapa 250 Charamula Kusum 261 Kotapur Road Odisha Chhattisgarh 269 Ambagaon 279 Amagura 287 Nakati Semra 293 Jagdalpur to Durg (planned) 302 Kumar Maranga 310 Topokal 316 Bade Arapur 327 Dilmili 338 Silak Jhori 347 Kumar Sadra 360 Kaklur 372 Kawargaon 381 Dabpal 392 Gidam 400 Dantewara 412 Kamalur 424 Bhansi 434 Bacheli 443 Kirandul