A second entrance to Tatanagar railway station from the Burmamines-end, scheduled to be ready by the middle of the year, will take more time to become operational.

According to railway sources, senior officials of the Chakradharpur division inspected the site last week to identify the bottlenecks.

"Apart from removal of shops that have encroached upon the area, a few issues like construction of a foot overbridge is hindering progress," said one of the senior officials at Tatanagar station.

But, senior divisional commercial manager of Chakradharpur Ashok Agarwal could not spell out a time frame.

"Nothing specific can be said. Though necessary infrastructure like ticket counters, sitting area and parking lot have already been put in place, the encroachment issue needs to be sorted out before making it operational," Agarwal told The Telegraph .

Funds to the tune of Rs 1.75 crore have already been spent for developing the second entrance, work for which began in 2010. Ticket counters, a waiting room, toilets, parking lot and other facilities are almost ready.

The second entrance will be beneficial for passengers coming from Sakchi, Golmuri, Baridih and Telco areas of the steel city. At present, they have to cross the new overbridge to reach the station via Station Road.

Parking of vehicles has also been a major issue at Tatanagar station. The second entrance would make it easier for auto-rickshaws to pick up passengers headed for Sakchi and other areas.

The electrical engineering department of Chakradharpur division has also drafted a blueprint for installing two escalators, which is still pending approval with Calcutta's Garden Reach headquarters of South Eastern Railway (SER).