Patna: Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani said the issue of transferring the land of the railway track between R-Block and Digha is still under consideration. He said the amount offered by the state government was not feasible.

Lohani stressed that in-principle the railways has agreed to transfer the land but the issue is pending over the cost evaluation and soon the matter would be shorted out. The state government proposes to construct a six-lane express road which will ease traffic movement in the city. The train running between the two stations runs virtually empty and does not even generate good revenue as well.

Earlier, a four-member committee comprising two each from the railways and the state government was formed to resolve the issue but the matter is still pending for almost seven years. "East Central Railway has sent a proposal with regard to transferring the railway land to the state government to the railway board and soon we will take the decision," Lohani said.

Meetings have taken place in the past between the state government and the railways but the issue couldn't be resolved. Earlier, the railways had agreed on transferring the land in exchange of state government land having equitable value but it was decided that the railways will take money for transferring the land.

ECR general manager Lalit Chandra Trivedi said the proposal has been sent to the Railway Board as the cost offered by the state government was not feasible. "Earlier, an in-principle approval from the railway board was given to transfer the land but the matter was stuck due to cost evaluation of the land. The original cost of the land is Rs 896 crore but in revaluation by the state government, the cost was less," Trivedi said about the land which is approximately 82.44 acres.

Whenever the train runs, it leaves commuters stranded at Hartali Mor four times daily at peak hours. For the past seven years, chief minister Nitish Kumar urged the railway ministry to hand over the 7km-long R-Block-Digha railway line land to the state government and convert it into a six-lane express road.

Each time the train passes through Hartali Mor, it brings traffic on Bailey Road, the lifeline of the city, to a standstill for more than 10 minutes. The seven-coach train started by the then railway minister Lalu Prasad in 2004 runs at a speed of 20kmph.

Trivedi added: "Immediate decision would have been taken place if the revaluation of the land would have been around Rs 800 crore but the state government offered Rs 221 crore which is less. So we have sent the proposal to the railway board again."

He also talked about improving the passengers' amenities at Patna Junction in the future like escalator, food stalls and others.