The railways has revived a Rs 1,700-crore project that had been gathering dust for years as part of their efforts to turn the upcoming terminal at Majherhat into an integrated railway hub.

A bridge across the Hooghly with a road running above railway tracks will be built between Sankrail in the Howrah-Kharagpur section (of South Eastern Railway) and Budge Budge (Eastern Railway) as part of the project. There is a rail link between Budge Budge and Majherhat.

“A detailed survey is taking place and we are keen on the project,” a Railway Board official said.

The survey will, among other things, ascertain the availability of land and work out details for the construction of the 300-metre-long, two-tier, single-span rail bridge.

According to a senior South Eastern Railway (SER) official, the bridge will be more than 60 metres high to keep vessel movement on the Hooghly unhindered and the road will run 20 metres above the tracks.

The 25km railway link will connect Majherhat, off Diamond Harbour Road, with Sankrail, via Budge Budge.

“Once the new line is ready, long-distance trains bound for southern or western India can be extended up to Majherhat from Howrah. New trains to southern or western India can also originate or terminate at Majherhat,” the official pointed out.

A planned Metro Railway link between BBD Bag and Joka will convert Majherhat into an integrated terminal.

“The total cost of the (Sankrail-Majherhat) project would be Rs 1,720 crore. Of that, the bridge and the flyover will cost Rs 1291.77 crore,” the official said.

The South Eastern Railway had taken up the project in 2007, but little moved beyond the planning stage.

Railway officials feel Majherhat would be viable as a terminal since it has a convenient road link — Diamond Harbour Road — a railway link through Circular Railway, and the Metro is on the cards.

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) has completed a survey for the Metro connection from Joka to Majherhat, a 10km stretch where land for laying tracks and building stations has been identified.

“It is part of the Joka-BBD Bag Metro project. A passenger interface will be built at the Majherhat terminal,” a Rail Vikas Nigam official said.

Around Rs 2,600 crore will be spent on the 17km project.

Eastern Railway officials said the construction of the terminal building at Majherhat was on. It will take about Rs 7 crore to build the two-storey terminal.

“The work would be completed by the end of January 2011,” a railway official said.

The terminal is likely to be commissioned with three platforms, having the capacity to handle six trains at a time.

“It will be a modern station with escalators, pedestrian subways, food courts and a multi-functional complex where passengers can halt at night,” a railway official said.

“After getting off trains, passengers will have lot of transport options like the Metro, the Circular Railway and road transport,” he added.