Bhubaneswar, April 15: Walking in and out of the platforms of Bhubaneswar railway station will become effortless shortly with the East Coast Railway authorities finishing work on one of two proposed escalators.

The station, which falls in the A1 category of Indian Railways, will be the first in the state to have escalators.

Sources in the East Coast Railway (ECoR) said technical tests of the facility on platform No. 1 had been completed and the link between the escalator and foot overbridge was nearly complete.

However, the facility would be opened to the public only after a similar escalator was built on platform No. 4. Its construction is yet to begin. So, passengers will have to wait at least till August to use the travelling staircase and make their way around.

Chief public relations officer of ECoR R.N. Mohapatra said: “The ECoR has been trying its best to provide modern facilities to passengers. Both the escalators and a VIP lounge will be thrown open to the public in August.”

The ECoR had decided to build the two escalators at the railway station at an estimated cost of Rs 1 crore. This is part of the railway’s Rs 205-crore plan to upgrade the Bhubaneswar railway station.

The facility will considerably help senior citizens, disabled passengers and those carrying heavy luggage who find it difficult to climb up and down the steps of the foot overbridge to catch a train.

“The escalators will be helpful as most of the time we have to rush up and down the foot overbridges, pushing through crowds. The escalators will enable us to reach the foot overbridges directly,” said Deepak Mohanty, a passenger.

Once work on this facility is over, two more escalators would be set up at the station connecting another foot overbridge. The station has two foot overbridges. But the tender process for the additional two escalators has not been initiated yet.

Nearly seven lakh passengers use the Bhubaneswar railway station every month and annual passenger growth was 20 per cent. More than 120 trains originate or pass through the Bhubaneswar railway station on a daily basis.

Passengers have also been complaining about lack of other facilities at the station.

“Most of the A1 stations of the country have already installed escalators for passenger comfort. Bhubaneswar is an important station, and so, the authorities must provide modern facilities such as food courts and VIP lounges,” said Mukesh Parida, a passenger.

In September last year, the ECoR had declared the massive Rs 205-crore plan to upgrade the railway station. The makeover plan included multi-level parking, a new station building, two additional platforms and a flyover at Master Canteen Square. The plan would be implemented in a phase wise manner.

Part of the plan also included setting up a second railway station, called New Bhubaneswar, between Barang and the existing Bhubaneswar station. Keeping in mind the high volume of rail traffic, the ECoR has planned to build New Bhubaneswar as a satellite passenger terminal for Bhubaneswar city. While the Bhubaneswar station is located in the southern side of the state capital, New Bhubaneswar will cater to the city’s northern part.