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Second rail bridge over Mahanadi commissioned

Correspondent

Second exit gate opened at Cuttack railway station
‘Steps taken to beautify landscape ’

CUTTACK: The 2.1 km second railway bridge over River Mahanadi was commissioned and dedicated to public by Railway Board Chairman K.C.Jena here on Saturday. The bridge would now facilitate trains approaching to the city from North without waiting for the track clearance.

Inaugurating the bridge that was constructed at a cost of Rs. 120 crore, Jena informed that work for the second railway bridges over rivers Kathjodi and Kuakhai is now in progress . “As soon as these bridges are complete in the next 10 months, the doubling of rail tracks between Cuttack and Bhubaneswar would be operational.

The Railway Vikash Nigam Limited (RVNL) has adopted a world-class quality control system for the bridge which is designed for a train speed of 160 km per hour. Since river Mahanadi falls under seismic zone III, adequate steps have been taken to withstand quake, sources said.

The second bridge over River Mahanadi, which took almost 36 months (three years) for completion, comes up after over 100 years of commissioning of the first bridge.

Exit gate

The Railway Board Chairman also inaugurated the second exit gate of Cuttack railway station on the eastern side of the city that was constructed at a cost of Rs. 60 crore.

The exit point would facilitate the passengers staying on the eastern fringes of the city and all those who would approach the station by the NH-5. “As soon as we acquire the land, the link road from station to NH would be complete”, Jena informed.

The eastern exit gate has the facilities like rest sheds, waiting halls and a flyover to reach other platforms. “Soon we are going to equip this with platform ticket vending machine and a touch-screen enquiry counter”, he added. He also emphasised that steps are taken on a war footing manner to beautify the landscape of the main entrance of Cuttack railway station which is coming up in the shape of Barabati Fort.

Earlier this year Jena had inaugurated a Merchants’ lounge in the city near Malgodown.

The well-furnished lounge is provided with modern facilities like air-conditioner, water cooler, aqua guard and toilets for the benefit of the businessmen.

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