Jamshedpur : The new general manager of South Eastern Railway ( SER) , Radheshyam on his maiden visit to Tatanagar railway station, promised more amenities for the passengers in the days to come.
Agarwal, who was accompanied by senior officials of Garden Reach, headquarters of SER and Chakradharpur railway division, inspected the facilities available at the station. He went on to inform that the SER will invite fresh tenders proposed second entry to the station from Burmamines-end. The process is expected to be completed by December 2014.
He said that the opening of the second entrance is aimed at decongesting Tatanagar that witnesses a daily footfall of 50,000 passengers.
Talking to media persons, he said that attempts are being made to add more passenger amenities at Tatanagar, an important railway station under South Eastern Railway.
“We are working on several projects and we have already sanctioned a new air-conditioned lounge which will come up on the station premises in the next two months. Facility of refreshments will be available for passengers at the lounge which will be similar to the one which exists in Bangalore and Chennai stations,” he. Referring to a query, the senior railway official said that they have also sanctioned two escalators which will come up on platform number one and the other at platform 2 & 3. ” Orders for installing the escalators will be placed soon,” he said adding that two lifts would also come up on platform number one and 4 & 5. Officials said funds to the tune of Rs 1.70 crore had been earmarked by the railway board for the project.
Tatanagar, the second busiest station of South Eastern Railway, will be the second to boast the escalator facility. Howrah station in Bengal, the busiest on the South Eastern Railway network, has escalators connecting its old and new complexes. The facility was introduced in 2011.
He said escalators at the station would come as a boon for the elderly, the physically challenged and passengers who travel with heavy luggage.
The entry on the Burmamines side of the station will only be thrown open to passengers after work on setting up the escalators is completed.
He also noted that the work for Jugsalai under bridge is in progress and the paper work is expected to be completed by September. Moreover, the work for over bridge at Jugsalai too is also in progress. At present the design for map is being prepared.