Construction under way at the new satellite station near Nandankanan. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee
Bhubaneswar, Oct. 6: Shortly, you may be able to board a south-bound train from the New Bhubaneswar station.
The railway authorities are developing the new station between Mancheswar and Barang as a satellite of the existing station in the city. The new terminus, to be located 13km from the main station, is being developed to take load off the city station in the near future.
It will also act as the originating point for many of the trains to south India.
Most major cities in the country have additional railway terminals so as to decongest the main station.
At present, the city station has six platforms, but in the future, there is no scope of lateral growth as there are many private plots in the Old Station Bazar and Master Centeen areas, railway officials said.
The city railway station handles around 106 trains at present.
Plans are afoot to revamp the main station as a joint collaboration of the East Coast Railways (ECoR) and the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA).
The area near the station will have high-rise apartments housing amenities such as hotels, malls, multi-level parking, bus terminal, amphitheatre and walkways to facilitate an international-level multi-modal transit point. Canada-based development consultant IBI has been roped in for the revamp work.
A senior railway official said even though the re-development plan of the main station is on, there is a need to develop other locations like New Bhubaneswar on the north so that the main station does not get congested in the near future.
The Railway Board has assigned Indian Railways Station Development Corporation to explore the possibilities to develop important railway stations according to international standards with all modern amenities.
The development corporation has engaged the China Railway Development Corporation (CRDC) to study the feasibility of the redevelopment of the main station. "The report by the CRDC is expected any time," a senior ECoR official told The Telegraph.
Though work on the New Bhubaneswar railway station has begun, the development will be based on the report by CRDC and the redevelopment plans of the BDA.
Commissioner of Railway Co-ordination Sanjay Mohaptra said: "With the growth of Bhubaneswar, the need for additional terminus is always there on the radar and both the state government and the ECoR are working towards developing it as an additional facility to the existing city railway station."
Railway sources added that in order to establish the new terminus, a new track between Mancheswar and Bhubaneswar is beinmg laid. To facilitate this, National Highways Authority of India will rebuilt the existing railway overbridge near Rasulgarh. The Railway Vikash Nigam Limited has granted Rs 10.45 crore to NHAI for the railway overbridge work.
ECoR chief public relations officer J.P. Mishra said: "We have our future traffic and station development plans ready to take care of the growing transportation needs of the region. We are in constant touch with the Odisha government officials on this subject. We will put in our resources and infrastructure after a final decision is taken on the subject."
BDA planning member Sudhiranjan Mohanty said: "We are planning a new stretch which will connect Jayadev Vihar-Nandankanan Road to the proposed station. The road will be constructed by the public works department and no building plan approval will be given to people who own land on that stretch."
"The New Bhubaneswar station can be used as a hub for south-bound trains in the future. People from Patia, Kalarahanga, Chandrasekharpur, Niladri Vihar, Sailashree Vihar, Infocity, Raghunathpur, Barang, Nandankanan, Mancheswar and nearby areas and from Abhinab Bidanasi in Cuttack will find it easy to board trains from new station,'' said Kalarahanga resident Aditya Jena.
♦ New station: New Bhubaneswar station is being developed to help ease pressure on city railway station
♦ Location: Satellite station located 13km from the city railway station on Bhubaneswar-Barang route
♦ Work: Laying of new track between Mancheswar and Bhubaneswar is under way. To facilitate this, National Highways Authority of India will rebuilt the existing railway overbridge near Rasulgarh
♦ Budget: The Railway Vikash Nigam Limited has granted Rs 10.45 crore to NHAI for railway overbridge work
♦ Trains: South-bound trains will originate from new station. People from Patia, Kalarahanga, Chandrasekharpur, Niladri Vihar, Sailashree Vihar, Infocity, Raghunathpur, Barang, Nandankanan, Mancheswar and nearby areas and from Abhinab Bidanasi in Cuttack will find it easy to board trains from new station
♦ Additional infrastructure: A new stretch will connect Jayadev Vihar-Nandankanan Road to the proposed station
♦ Pros and cons: Development of new station will depend on revamp plans of main city station. Work will be done based on report prepared by China Railway Development Corporation. Development plans of Cuttack and Paradip
railway stations will depend on proposed station as trains originating from Bhubaneswar might halt at the two places
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