State demands alternative loco unit in Kalahandi

Bhubaneswar: The state government on Friday moved the railway ministry to set up an electric locomotive periodic overhaul (POH) workshop in Kalahandi.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, in a letter to Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu, said a joint working group considered the actual demand and economics of railways and made the recommendation.
It was based on overall shortage of electric locomotive POH capacity in the railways, large electrification work being undertaken in ECoR jurisdiction and the fact that there is no such workshop under ECoR, Naveen said.
The group was set up to examine possibilities for an alternative industry in Kalahandi after the ministry scrapped its plan for a wagon maintenance workshop in Kalahandi.
The chief minister said the feasibility study revealed that the working group found that there was an immediate need for 60 locomotives a year capacity POH workshop.
This would reduce the cost overhauling of 344 electric locomotives of ECoR in workshops of eastern, south eastern and central railways. With electrification of Sambalpur division, which caters to Kalahandi district, the demand for POH will go up, he added.