Soon journey from Ranchi to Delhi will be shorter and faster. New railway tracks, which are being laid on a stretch of 1,300 km on the Ranchi-Delhi main line, will enable Delhi-bound trains to cover the distance at a shorter period.The new links will join the existing Daltonganj-Delhi line and will not only reduce the journey time by about three hours, but also the distance by around 200 km. The projects are expected to be completed around February 2013."Work is going on in full swing. The new rail line will not only reduce journey time, it will also lessen pressure on the existing rail lines in Jharkhand. This is a Rs 1,981-crore (sanctioned cost) project of which 66% will be shared by the state government and 34% by the railways," said Ranchi divisional railway manager, G Malaya."It will also enable congestion free movement of trains," Malaya added. At present many local trains need to be stopped at various stations because of congestion.A Ranchi division railway official said around 40% of the 79-km Koderma-Hazaribag, 58-km Hazaribag-Barkakana, 63-km Barkakana-Ranchi, 107-km Koderma-Giridih, 66-km Dumka-Rampurhat, 44-km Lohardaga-Toi, 42-km Shivpur-Tori and 14-km Koderma-Tilya rail links have already been constructed. There are three routes to Delhi from Ranchi. To join the existing Daltonganj-Delhi main line, all Delhi-bound trains pass through Muri, 50 km away, and also through Muri and Barkakana."Now trains will not have to take the Muri and Barkakana route. They will be diverted through Lohardaga and Tori (a railway station between Barkakana and Daltonganj) thus saving around 200 km travel," said a railway official. Similarly, freight transport will also become faster.Half of the rail lines are located here in the valleys. But not only tough terrains deter construction activities, in districts like Latehar and Lohardaga rebels rule the roost and have disrupted the ongoing construction works many a times.Latehar deputy commissioner, Rahul Purwar, said, "Not only railways, other works are also targeted by rebels. Thankfully, things are not as bad as they once used to be and security has been beefed up."Since January 2011, over 20 incidents of vandalism, arson and abduction have been reported at railway construction sites in Lohardaga and Latehar districts.The railways have time and again approached the Jharkhand police for protection. "Though they have been accommodative, more needs to be done from their side," said an official, who is monitoring these projects."We seek more cooperation in areas of blasting of rocks for construction of railway lines. Only after we receive timely cooperation can we complete projects on time," he added.Lohardaga SP Jitendra Kumar Singh claimed much has been done to check rebel atrocities. "We provided elaborate security after incidents of arson and abduction of construction staff were reported. Work is going on smoothly now," the SP added.As these railway lines will connect remote villages with the state capital, it will also affect the socio-economic scenario of the area. Villagers who need to pay Rs 70 for coming to Ranchi from Lohardaga, will now pay only Rs 14.
Ranchi: Soon journey from Ranchi to Delhi will be shorter and faster. New railway tracks, which are being laid on a stretch of 1300km on Ranchi-Delhi main line, will enable Delhi-bound trains to cover the distance at a shorter period.
The new links will join the existing Daltonganj-Delhi line. It will not only reduce the journey time by about three hours, the distance too will be reduced by around 200 km. The scheduled time to complete these projects is around February 2013.
"Work is going on in full swing. The new rail line will not only reduce journey time, it will also lessen pressure on the existing rail lines in Jharkhand. This is a Rs 1,981 crore (sanctioned cost) project of which 66% will be shared by the state government and 34% by the railways," said Ranchi divisional railway manager G Malaya.
"It will also enable congestion free movement of trains," Malaya added. At present many local trains needs to be stopped at various railway stations due to heavy traffic congestion.
A Ranchi division railway official said around 40% of 79km long Koderma-Hazaribagh, 58km Hazaribagh-Barkakana, 63km Barkakana-Ranchi, 107km Koderma-Giridih, 66km Dumka-Rampurhat, 44km Lohardaga-Toi, 42km Shivpur-Tori and 14km Koderma-Tilya rail links have already been constructed. There are three routes to Delhi from Ranchi. To join the existing Daltonganj-Delhi main line, all Delhi-bound trains pass through Muri, 50 km away and also through Muri and Barkakana.
"Now trains will not have to take the Muri and Barkakana route. They will be diverted through Lohardaga and Tori (a railway station between Barkakana and Daltonganj) thus saving around 200 km travel," said a railway official. Similarly, freight transport will also become fast.
Half of the rail lines are located here in the valleys. But not only tough terrains deter construction activities, in districts like Latehar and Lohardaga rebels rule the roost and have disrupted the ongoing construction works many a times.
Latehar deputy commissioner Rahul Purwar said, "Not only railways, other works are also targeted by rebels. Thankfully, things are not as bad as they once used to be and security has been beefed up." Since January 2011, over 20 incidents of vandalism, arson and abduction have been reported at railway construction sites in Lohardaga and Latehar districts.
The railways have time and again approached the Jharkhand police for protection. "Though they have been accommodative, more needs to be done from their side," said an official, who is monitoring these projects. "In terms of blasting of rocks for construction of railway line we seek more cooperation. Only after we receive timely cooperation we can complete the projects on time," he added.
Lohardaga SP Jitendra Kumar Singh claimed much has been done to check atrocities of rebels. "We have provided elaborate security arrangements after incidents of arson and abduction of construction staff were reported. Work is going on smoothly now," the SP added.
As these railway lines will connect remote villages with the state capital, it will also affect socio-economic scenario. Villagers who need to pay Rs 70 for coming to Ranchi from Lohardaga, can come to Ranchi by train by paying a fare of Rs 14.
