Facelift work underway at Ranchi railway station on Monday

RANCHI: After Ranchi-Rajdhani Express, the Ranchi-Howrah Intercity Express is set to get a facelift.
The Ranchi division of South Eastern Railways (SER) on Monday said it has received the Railway Board’s nod for giving a makeover to the Ranchi-Howrah Intercity Express under the Union ministry of Railways’ Project Utkrisht for giving the passengers a better travelling experience.
The train, which plies between Ranchi and Howrah three days a week, will be painted afresh on its exteriors and interiors and fitted with new curtains, doormats in toilets, handwash dispensers. “The project will cost Rs 1.15 crore and the train, with new makeover, will become operational from March this year,” Ranchi divisional railway manager Vijay Kumar Gupta said. Ranchi-Rajdhani was upgraded under Project Swarn in the ongoing fiscal.
The division on Monday laid out the details of the funds it was allocated in the interim budget of 2019-20 FY, tabled by finance minister Piyush Goyal on February 1. Though there was no announcement for new train and infrastructure for the state, this year’s budget outlay allocated Rs 2,427.6202 crore for Jharkhand (including the jurisdictions of South Eastern Railways, Eastern Railways and East Central Railways), a 11.53% hike from 2018-19 FY. Ranchi division saw an increase in budget allocation by 10.71% from last year, totaling to Rs 301.17 crore, Gupta said.
Laying down the division’s future plans for the upcoming fiscal, Gupta said the second phase of re-development of Ranchi station premises will be undertaken. “We have requisitioned for six escalators for commissioning them in Ranchi station. That apart, the Ranchi station premise will be illuminated with airport type lights by March, which will enhance the experience of passengers who travel to and fro from the station,” Gupta added.
Besides re-development of Ranchi station premises, the division said it will completely phase out mechanized signaling gears used in its jurisdiction and equip all 44 stations with divyang toilets for the differently abled.
The budgetary allocation indicates a thrust in completion of infrastructure as Rs 1,403 crore was allocated nine ongoing doubling projects and two third line construction projects. Of them, the 158-kilometer doubling project of Ranchi-Bondamunda has been termed high priority and being monitored by the Prime Minister’s Office.
That apart, the division claimed it has raised the maximum speed limit in Hatia -Orga section and Ranchi-Lohardaga section to 110 kilometers an hour. “The maximum speed limit for Hatia-Muri and Hatia-Barkakana sections will also be raised to 110 kilometers an hour,” Gupta added.