Bhubaneswar, April 14: The East Coast Railway (ECoR) is likely to make the Lanjigarh-Junagarh line operational soon. It will also start its train services on the Khurda Road- Balangir route on the Khurda Road-Begunia stretch.
General manager of ECoR Indra Ghosh said an order had already been sanctioned for construction of the Phase II of the Khurda Road-Balangir rail line.
The work on 56-km Lanjigarh-Junagarh rail line is on in full swing, said Ghosh, while speaking at an event organised here to mark the Railway Week.
The work on the Lanjigarh-Junagarh rail line has been going on for the last 10 years and the delay in its construction has resulted in an escalation of project cost by Rs 127 crore.
Ghosh said his zone had achieved a record revenue loading of 120.77 million tonnes in 2011-12, registering a 10.8 per cent increase over the previous fiscal’s 108.99 million tonnes.
During 2011-12, the incremental loading of the ECoR has been the highest among all railway zones. The originating freight earnings increased from Rs 7,234.64 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 8,079.08 crore in 2011-12, registering an increase of 11.67 per cent.
During the year, the railway division has also witnessed a growth of nine per cent in passenger segment. During 2011-11, the ECoR has carried 86.16 million passengers against 79.37 million in the preceding year. Seven new trains were also introduced connecting Odisha to different destinations across the country.
The ECoR has also achieved an operating ratio (figure that indicates how much railway spends for every one hundred rupees earned) of 45.62 percent against the set target of 45.68 percent).
Ghosh also emphasised on safety in train operations.
“Our aim is to provide a modern, reliable, safe and customer-focused service to our users. Safety in train operations has to be kept on our foremost agenda,” he said.
The Khurda Road rail division has bagged the overall efficiency shields for the best all-round performance for commercial, operation, civil engineering, electrical engineering, security, signal and telecom signal. Similarly, the Visakhapatnam division has bagged awards for its outstanding performances in the field of accounts, safety, medical and personnel.
