Title - Shalimar terminal to ease congestion at Howrah station

KOLKATA: Dankuni’s loss will be Shalimar’s gain, thanks to trouble over land acquisition. The Indian Railways has been forced to scrap plans for a coaching terminal at Dankuni. The terminal will now shift to Shalimar in Howrah for which the railways has sanctioned nearly Rs 192 crore.
Engineers of South Eastern Railway (SER) are currently working out plans to develop the facilities at Shalimar into a full-fledged terminal. At present, only a few trains will originate and terminate at Shalimar. If everything goes according to the plan, then most long distance trains of SER will shift to Shalimar and Santragachhi from Howrah. This will create more space at the two terminals of Howrah station for Eastern Railway (ER) trains.
“Though both terminals at Howrah station belong to ER, the new or south complex (Terminal-II) is used exclusively by SER’s long-distance trains. The north complex (Terminal-I) is used by ER’s long-distance trains and all EMU locals. There is immediate need for a new terminal to reduce the congestion at Howrah station,” a source in the railways said.
Several proposals were floated, including a new terminal close to Howrah station for local trains. However, none of these were feasible. Majerhat was also considered, but a bridge from the Howrah side of the Hooghly to Majerhat wasn’t technically feasible. Puddapukur was another site that was chosen but didn’t match all specifications. Finally, it was decided to develop Shalimar into a full-fledged terminal, he added.
In his budget speech of 2012, former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi announced a feasibility study for a terminal at Dankuni. However, there wasn’t sufficient space in Dankuni for a passenger terminal and acquisition wasn’t an option. As it is, a freight terminal is coming up at Dankuni that will connect it to the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor.
“The passenger terminal should ideally have been built at Dankuni. However, since land is a hurdle at Dankuni and an outlay of Rs 192.44 crore has been made for Shalimar, officials should proceed with their plans,” an official said.