Jamshedpur, Nov. 25: The running staff (guards and drivers) at Tatanagar railway station can heave a sigh of relief.

For, the railway board has sanctioned Rs 45 lakh for setting up a spacious rest room for them at Tatanagar. The room would also serve as a booking room.

The new room, which is expected to be operational in the next six months, will be equipped with easy chairs, computer facilities, newspapers and a water purifier.

Tatanagar station, which has more than 500 running staff, has been facing a tough time in the absence of any rest room. The dingy room that exists now lacks basic amenities and is so small that drivers have to wait to get a place inside.

The condition of the drivers and goods train guards is all the more deplorable as they sometimes get long breaks and have to spend the time loitering on the platforms till they get a place for rest at the existing room.

“The present rest room is small and bereft of facilities. There is no lavatory in the rest room. We use the toilet made for the public. The condition of goods train guards and drivers is pitiable as such trains are generally late and the staff wait for eight to nine hours without any rest. We have spent many nights on the open platform in the absence of space in the rest room,” said P.S. Chatterjee, a senior express train guard at Tatanagar station.

Moreover, as both guards and drivers roam around in the absence of a suitable place to rest, the booking clerks often face problems while allocating duties to the wandering running staff. The distance between the booking room and the rest room also leads to a chaotic situation sometimes.

“With the new rest room, there will be better co-ordination between the booking clerk and running staff,” said U.S. Banerjee, a senior locomotive driver.

But the fight to get the amount sanctioned for the rest room was a long and difficult one. A guard at Tatanagar station and divisional co-ordinator of union Railway Men’s Congress, S.R. Mishra, said that it took more than nine months to win the battle.

There are rest rooms at Bilaspur and Chakradharpur but Tatanagar station had none despite being a model station under Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway. Apart from this, there are other plans to improve the infrastructure of different departments under Tatanagar station.

After this, the building up of a community hall, Kalyan Madap, for railway employees is on cards. For this the railway board has sanctioned Rs 36 lakh. The railways employees will use this hall for holding functions.