Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, July 5, 2015 : There is some good news for Odishans. The headquarter of East Coast Zonal Railways [ECoR] will not be shifted from here to Vishapatnam. It has been confirmed by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

In a reply to an RTI query filed by activist Hemant Kumar Panda, the PMO office made it clear that there is no proposal to shift the HQ of the ECoR.

No allocation has been made for the 310-km Raipur-Jharsuguda railway project included in the Railway budget last year as the project is waiting for the approval of the Planning Commission and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), according to the information collected by the RTI activist about a number of pending railway projects in Odisha.

There was a proposal for trebling of Khordha Road-Bhubaneswar-Barang railway track and doubling of rail track between Cuttack and Barang in 2003-04. While the trebling of Khordha Road-Bhubaneswar railway track has been completed, work on the remaining stretch between Bhubanewar and Barang is yet to be completed. Besides, the doubling Cuttack-Barang railway track is not yet completed.

Though there is a proposal for doubling of railway track between Khordha Road and Delang, the doubling of 28-km Delang-Puri route is not completed.

There is a plan for construction of Rs 20 crore 1.3-km bypass railway line to divert the Puri-bound trains to avoid extra rush during Nabakalebara by July this year.

Keeping in view the heavy rush of passengers during Nabakalebara, there is need for expansion of Bhubaneswar and Puri railway stations.

Besides, ECoR has also planned to construct a huge passenger rest shed in Puri before Nabakalebara and a state-of-the-art station building in Bhubaneswar at a cost of Rs 80 crore of which the state government would bear half of the cost.

Instructions have been given to complete these projects by the end of July this year.

Besides, some of the railway infrastructure development projects, demanded by the Odisha government in view of the Nabakalebara Rath Yatra, is yet to be completed.