Escalators soon at Tatanagar railway station

Jamshedpur : Living up to its A-class sobriquet, South Eastern Railway�s second busiest railway station is preparing to take commuters for an escalators ride by the middle of this year.

The Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway (SER) has decided to lay the foundation stone of escalator project at Tatanagar, on May 26.

A senior official of the railway’s engineering wing, S K Das, said that work has started to convert the old road overbridge into a footbridge on the railway station. Divisional railway manager of Chakradharpur division Rajendra Prasad will lay the foundation stone.

According to plans, platform No. 1 will be equipped with an escalator ( or moving stairways ) , a lift and a ramp. Platform Nos. 2 and 3 will have ramps while the rest two platforms — 4 and 5 will have the facility of a lift and a staircase. The total project is estimated to cost over Rs 2 crore.

The tender process for two of these conveyor transport devices has been completed. While one will provide access to platform No. 2 and 3, the other will link platform Nos. 4 and 5 at Tatanagar.

The moving stairways will connect the platforms with an abandoned overbridge, which will be revamped into a railway footbridge once the proposed second entry to the station from Burmamines-end is made operational.

A senior official said they were waiting for a green light from the commissioner of railway safety (CRS) to convert the abandoned bridge. �The tender for installation of the two escalators has been finalised,� he added.

Sources said funds to the tune of Rs 1.70 crore had been earmarked by the Railway Board for the escalator project. Tatanagar will be the second station under South Eastern Railway (SER) to boast this facility. Howrah station in Bengal, which is also the most busiest, already has escalators connecting its old and new complexes. The facility was introduced in 2011.

He said the bridge and Burmamines entry issue had come up for discussions during the Divisional Railway Users� Consultative Committee meeting in Chakradharpur on December 28.

The railway division has set deadline for opening the second entrance, which is aimed at decongesting Tatanagar that witnesses a daily footfall of 50,000 passengers.

Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has welcomed the move. A senior functionary of SCCI said during a recent meeting at Santragachi, SER general manager had assured him that the escalator plan at Tatanagar would materialise in the next financial year.

�We are happy that the railway has taken the issue seriously. Escalators at the station will benefit the old and the infirm, besides passengers with heavy luggage,� he added.