Jamshedpur : The�second entrance to Tatanagar railway station from the Burmamines-end, scheduled to be ready by now, will take more time to become operational.
According to railway sources, senior officials of the Chakradharpur division inspected the site last week to identify the bottlenecks. Apart from removal of shops that have encroached upon the area, a few issues like construction of a foot overbridge is hindering progress.
The second entrance to Tatanagar railway station from the Burmamines end would be thrown open for general public later this year.
” We are dedicated towards our commitments. The second entrance to Tatanagar railway station from the Burmamines end is an important railway project. It will reduce congestion at the main entrance of the station. The entrance will be opened later this year,” said a senior official.
He said that the opening of the second entrance is aimed at decongesting Tatanagar that witnesses a daily footfall of 60,000 passengers.
The second entrance will be of benefit to passengers coming from Sakchi, Golmuri, Baridih and Telco. At present, they have to cross the new overbridge to reach the railway station via Station Road. This takes a lot of time and lead to traffic congestion.
It may be mentioned that funds about Rs 1.75 crore have been already spent for developing the infrastructure at the second entrance. Work for the second entrance began in 2010. Ticket counters, a waiting room, toilets, car parking and other facilities are almost ready.
The reservation centre was a single storey building which was converted into a double-storeyed building. The computerised reserved tickets for long distance trains are available on the first floor while the ground floor has been earmarked for unreserved tickets for passenger trains of various destinations.
The official said that apart from Tatanagar , the railway has plans of improving passenger amenities in other important railway stations under the Chakradharpur and other divisions of South Eastern Railway.
The Tatanagar station assumes importance in view because it is located on the Howrah-Mumbai main route. Several important trains travel via Tatanagar, including the high-profile Rajdhani Express and Duronto Express.
The station sees a daily traffic of 90 mail, express and passenger trains, besides a footfall of more than 60,000 passengers.