RailEnquiry

Eight ticket counters, a spacious parking lot, food kiosks and seating arrangements. The second entrance to Tatanagar railway station would boast all the above and more. Chakradharpur railway division will be spending close to Rs 2 crore to develop facilities at the second entrance, which authorities hope will decongest South Eastern Railway's second busiest station after Howrah with a daily footfall of 45,000 passengers, and the only A-list station in the division. Confirming that the gateway would make its debut sometime in October, the officiating station manager of Tatanagar Rajendra Prasad said the work on the new entrance is on in full swing. "The construction wing of the railways, which prepared the blueprint, is executing the project. Necessary efforts will be made to ensure that the project is completed by October," he said. Various facilities including ticket counters, parking space, public lavatories will come up as part of the second entrance at the Burmamines-end. The old overbridge at the same end will connect different platforms. The bridge would be pedestrians only. A senior officer of the railway construction wing revealed that earlier 10 ticket booking counters were proposed, which has now been reduced to eight. According to him, the facilities would cover an area of 12,600sqm. Space has been earmarked for two food stalls. The entry and exits would be spacious to avoid congestion during rush hour. Moreover, beautification work would be carried out at the entrance. The official said the parking lot would have five small gardens with several species of show plants. The second entrance will allow smooth entry to passengers from Sakchi, Golmuri, Baridih, Sidhgora, Telco, Tinplate, Agrico and other localities. At present, they are required to cross the new overbridge to reach Tatanagar via Station Road, not an easy trek considering traffic snarls they have to encounter, thanks to encroachment by vegetable vendors. Notably, about 150 railway quarters, located close to Star Talkies in Burmamines had to be demolished to pave way for the second entry. Several trees were also cut by the railways after seeking permission from the forest department.