SCCI wants more trains

Kolhan’s largest trade outfit Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) on Friday sent its pre-budget memorandum to Union railway minister Sadanand Gowda on a day the ministry hiked rail fares by 14.2 per cent.

The 15-point wish list asked the Union minister to include sops for Tatanagar, a model station under Chakradharpur railway division, the highest revenue-earning division in freight.

Demands for trains included a new one between Tatanagar and Jodhpur via Jaipur, a direct one to Hyderabad and an AC superfast one between Tatanagar and Howrah.

“There is huge demand for a direct train to Jodhpur or Jaipur from Tatanagar as over three lakh people with roots in Rajasthan reside in and around the city,” said the letter signed by SCCI vice-president Vijay Anand Moonka.

On the direct train to Hyderabad, the SCCI argued that there were sizeable number of people, including students and patients, who travelled to the south from Jamshedpur.

A new train between Tatanagar and Howrah was needed, the trade body said, given the overcrowded Steel Superfast Express that travels between two destinations.

It requested the frequency of Tatanagar-Yeshwantpur Express be hiked to four times a week. The letter further pointed out lack of pantry cars in some long-distance trains and asked for more AC compartments and replacement of old coaches.

On infrastructure, the trade outfit raised the issue of of Jugsalai railway overbridge and proposed a multi-level parking hub at Tatanagar.