Gomoh station. (Gautam Dey)

Dhanbad, Jan. 28: Anand Shankar Upadhyay, divisional railway manager (DRM) of East Central Railway’s (ECR) Dhanbad division, today visited Gomoh station to take stock of work being carried out under Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee’s ambitious model station project.

As many as many 375 stations across the country have been selected for development as model stations. Gomoh and Parasnath were the two stations out of 116 in the division to make it to the list.

The DRM took stock of the ground situation and gave necessary instructions to officials. He also apprised the media about the progress.

Gomoh station is 30km, while Parasnath is 48km away from Dhanbad. Gomoh is an important station from the industrial point of view. Not only it serves as a link between the Grand chord section and Coal India chord section, it also connects Dhanbad with industrial towns like Gomia and Bermo.

Parasnath, in Giridih, is a place of religious importance. It is a Jain pilgrimage centre and draws a large number of tourists because of the Parasnath hills.

The stations will get all basic facilities, including drinking water, sanitation, adequate number of toilets and dormitories.

So far, high-mast lights have been installed, work on the second foot bridge is in progress and the works are expected to be completed before December.

The DRM instructed the officials to implement a better water supply system on the station premises by April.

Raising the level and length of platforms and providing adequate lighting arrangement should be over by March 31, said the DRM.

Platform No. 2, which accommodates 20 coaches now, will be extended to accommodate 24 bogies. The retiring room and parking lot at the station would also get a facelift under the project, he said.

But the DRM parried questions on stoppage of more trains such as Dhanbad-Asansol-Gomoh and Dhanbad-Sindri passengers and Dikshabhumi Express at the station, saying he could only forward the request to the authorities concerned. “Only developing Gomoh into a model station will not help, you need to create stoppage of important trains for the benefit of local passengers,” said Ashwini Pandey, president of Daily Passengers’ Association.