Ranchi station on Friday. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Jan. 21: In order to improve platform amenities and help train passengers — the elderly and disabled in particular — Ranchi railway division is likely to install an escalator — the first in a railway station in Jharkhand — on the overbridge that connects platforms two and three.

The escalator, plans for which have been drafted by the Ranchi railway division and sent to the railway board for approval, will ease the troubles of passengers who now have to take the stairs of the bridge with heavy luggage to go from one platform to another.

“We have drafted and sent the plans and hope to commission the escalator by the first week of June,” said Sunil Kumar, additional divisional railway manager of Ranchi railway division.

He added that the demand for an escalator was a long-standing one of passengers, especially senior citizens. “The new arrangement help them travel more comfortably,” Kumar said.

Incidentally, Tatanagar railway station had mooted and sent a similar proposal to Garden Reach, the South Eastern Railway headquarters in 2009, but is yet to receive the nod from the authorities. Ranchi railway station, if it gets the green signal for the Rs 35 lakh project, will become the first in the state to have an escalator.

“We have been asking the authorities to set up the escalator for a long time now. The new arrangement will ease our travelling worries,” said Ashok Nagpal, member of Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee, hailing the decision of the railways.

However, Nagpal added that the station administration should also look to fill up the vacant posts of porters to ease passenger woes.

Ranchi currently has 16 porters against the sanctioned strength of 50.

When prodded about the porter shortage, Kumar said the existing vacancies would be filled up soon.

“We have invited applications and will start recruiting porters soon. We will recruit 24 porters by March 31,” he said.