Rail Review Meet at Ghatshila on Train Delays, Projects

Senior South Eastern Railway Officials Discuss Tatanagar Issues with Jamshedpur Parliamentary Area Leaders

Key Points:

• South Eastern Railway cuts daily wagon ops from 27,000 to 23,000 to ease train delays
• ROB tenders issued for Khairbani, Govindpur, Barigoda; Salgajodi underpass due by May
• Tatanagar redevelopment, Vande Bharat depot, 4 new platforms worth crores under way

JAMSHEDPUR – A detailed review meeting on railway issues related to the Jamshedpur parliamentary constituency was held on Sunday at the HCL Director Bungalow in Maubhandar, Ghatshila, with senior officials of South Eastern Railway in attendance.

The discussion at the meeting focused on passenger train delays at Tatanagar railway station, rail operations, infrastructure development, and passenger amenities.

On the issue of persistent train delays, railway officials stated that the daily freight wagon operations had been brought down from approximately 27,000 to 23,000. This reduction, they said, had already led to improvement in passenger train punctuality. Officials added that monitoring of the situation would continue going forward.

Regarding road-over-bridge works, tenders for ROBs at Khairbani, Govindpur, and Barigoda have been issued and construction is set to begin shortly. Meanwhile, the Salgajodi underpass project is expected to be completed and opened to the public by April or May.

On the major ongoing rail projects, officials confirmed that the redevelopment of Tatanagar station is in progress. In addition, a Vande Bharat depot costing Rs 383.78 crore and the construction of four new platforms at a cost of Rs 482 crore are also under way.

Several key demands were placed before the railway officials at the meeting. These included special monitoring of trains originating and terminating at Tatanagar, resumption and coach expansion of the Antyodaya Express, restoration of the Kriyayog Express halt at Chakulia, and advancing the proposal for a railway halt at Barkola.

On the other hand, railway officials gave a positive assurance on all the suggestions placed before them. The South Eastern Railway headquarters is located in Kolkata and oversees rail operations across Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Odisha.

The Tatanagar station redevelopment is part of the Indian Railways’ broader station modernisation programme being implemented across the country. However, the Tatanagar station delays have been a long-standing issue, with MLA Saryu Rai having led a sit-in protest at the station earlier this month demanding punctual train services.

The Antyodaya Express is a fully unreserved superfast train service introduced by Indian Railways to cater to common passengers. Its resumption has been a long-standing demand from commuters in this region.

Separately, the Barkola halt proposal, if approved, would improve rail access for residents in that locality falling under the Jamshedpur parliamentary constituency.