Pataliputra station: Railways pins hopes on Nitish

PATNA: With Nitish Kumar taking oath as chief minister of Bihar for the fifth time on Friday, railway officials are hopeful that the newly built Pataliputra station would become operational soon.
It was Kumar who had visualised Pataliputra as the new terminal to decongest heavy traffic from Patna Junction during his stint as railway minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet.The station, built about two years ago, could not become operational due to locals’ agitation over land acquisition. The railways pins hopes on Kumar to resolve the stalemate.
The Danapur division of East Central Railway (ECR) is finding it difficult to streamline running of passenger and goods trains on same tracks. “Huge traffic movement is a big problem under the division,” said a railway official.
ECR CPRO Arvind Rajak said the delay in commissioning of Pataliputra station is the main bottleneck in ensuring smooth traffic flow under the division. “Had Pataliputra station been made functional, traffic load would have reduced at Patna Junction,” he said.
Rajak said Patna Junction has reached a saturation point from traffic point of view. “Rajendra Nagar and Danapur stations are also coping with maximum traffic load,” Rajak said.
“New Delhi station has four terminals – Old Delhi, Sarai Rohilla, Anand Vihar and Nizamudin – and five branch lines. Patna Junction, on the other hand, has just Up and Down lines that came up during the British period. In addition to originating trains, the number of passing trains is also on the rise under Danapur,” railway sources said.
The railway officials held a meeting with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and chief secretary recently. Railways has already agreed to transfer the land to the state government in lieu of payment for construction of road for the residents of Jalapur, Patna.
ECR intends to develop Pataliputra station on the pattern of Anand Vihar (Delhi) to maintain smooth flow of traffic under Danapur division. On its commissioning, there will be four terminals – Patna Junction, Rajendra Nagar, Danapur and Pataliputra.