Jamshedpur : The wait for the twin escalators at Tatanagar railway station is getting delayed with railway authorities setting up a fresh deadline to complete it.
The project was supposed to be completed by April this year. But, officials of the engineering wing which is supervising the escalator installation work today hinted at more time.
” We have been trying to complete the project bit it has got delayed. We have set a new deadline of June 30 as it was impossible to complete the work before that.
Earlier, we had fixed April deadline for making operational the escalator and the lift ( elevator) on platform No. 3. But, the Ranchi-based private firm which is executing the project has expressed inability to complete the installation work this month.
We have therefore extended the deadline till June 30,” said S. K. Das, assistant engineer ( AEN) of Tatanagar railway station.
The senior official said that funds are not a constraint as South Eastern Railway (SER) has already sanctioned Rs 1.5 crore for the installation of escalators and lifts at the A-1 category railway station.
Significantly, work for the much-awaited installation of platform escalators had begun in July last year. The imported escalators which were supposed to reach in October last year was also delayed. The two escalators imported from China arrived at Tatanagar station in the first week of March this year.
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.
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.
Located on the Howrah-Mumbai main route Tatanagar is an important station. 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.
