Central Railway moots new terminal near Ghorpadi

General manager of Central Railway Subodh Jain on Tuesday admitted that the Pune railway station has already crossed its saturation point in terms of its capacity to cater to more trains and passengers. Jain also suggested that the railway administration will have to build additional terminals keeping the growth of the city in mind.Jain visited the Pune railway station on Tuesday where he inspected the platforms, the Janata Khana provided at the station, equipment used for maintenance work, the linen bed sheet supplied in the trains and the battery operated vehicle at the station for physically challenged persons and senior citizens.After the inspection, while speaking to media persons, Jain said, “The stations are generally used up to 80 per cent of their capacity and 20 per cent is kept for emergency. But in terms of Pune railway station, we have already crossed the saturation point and now, the station has reached such a level that it will not be able to sustain any growth in terms of passengers.’’“There are 127 trains that pass from Pune railway station daily and there are only five platforms for these trains as the sixth platform is only for 18 coaches. Hence, on an average, 25 to 30 trains arrive on each platform which is very difficult to manage,’’ Jain said.Jain said the railways are planning some expansion to ease some pressure at the Pune railway station. He said, “We are planning to build a new terminal near Ghorpadi, so the trains coming to Pune from Saswad can be terminated at that station. We also have a plan to build a new platform for local trains at our existing parcel office. We have other plans also, but we will have to examine the city’s master plan for 2020. We will consult the Pune Municipal Corporation about the future growth of the city and accordingly, plan our expansion.’’