Neglect of Rourkela by the Railways

Neglect of Rourkela by the Railways has been unveiled in this report

The union rail budget 2011-2012 is about to come by February end week.
The present railway minister, Mamataa Bannerji has called off a meeting of all the supervisors and officer of the 11 out of 14 railway zones of Indian Railways namely the ER, ECoR, SER, WCR, NCR, CR, NR, NER, SR, WR and NWR.

A few of the members from RRB and other public private partners were also invited for the meeting.

The expected budget claims as the budget for ordinary people.

*There shall not be any reduction or expansion in the fare of ordinary and Air Conditioned class.

*The fare of all class in Shatabdi Express and Yuwa Express will be reduced by 10%.

*New coach factory to be set up at Kota Junction, Digha & Nagpur

* There were several demands of the people to start the train services including the Duronto and Shatabdis. A long chart have been prepared under approval of honourable Railway minister to claim in the upcoming rail budget of 2011-2012.

The following new 90 Train services are proposed for the rail budget, out of which only 75 services will be taken under consideration and will be announced for rail budget 2011-2012.

*New Delhi - Panipat AC Express (daily)
*Howrah - Madurai Express (tri weekly)
*Howrah - Una Express (5 days a week)
*Secunderabad - Indore Express (bi weekly via. Nagpur)
*Secunderabad - Tata Express (daily)
*Hajur Sahib Nanded - Indore Express (weekly via. Nagpur)
*Howrah - Jammu Express (tri weekly)
*Howrah - Dehradun Express (bi weekly via. Agra)
*Howrah - Kolhapur Express (weekly)
*Jodhpur - Coimbatore Express (weekly)
*Jodhpur - Howrah AC Express (daily via. Nagpur - Bhopal)
*Howrah - Jaisalmer Express (bi weekly)
*Howrah - Bhuj Express (4 days a week)
*Dhanbad - Pune Express (bi weekly via. Allahabad)
*Howrah - Pune Express (daily via. Bhopal - Katni)
*Howrah - Firozpur Express (bi weekly)
*Ranchi - Ernakulam Express (weekly)
*Howrah - Mysore Express (bi weekly)
*Howrah - Chennai AC Duronto (tri weekly)
*Howrah - Guwahati AC Duronto (bi weekly)
*Howrah - Lucknow AC Duronto (weekly)
*Lucknow - Pune AC Duronto (bi weekly)
*Jaipur - Lucknow AC Duronto (tri weekly)
*Jaipur - Bhopal AC Duronto (tri weekly)
*Chennai - Mumbai CST Duronto (weekly)
*Mumbai CST - Ranchi Duronto Express (weekly)
*New Delhi - Vasco Duronto (weekly)
*Howrah - Agra AC Express (daily)
*Ferozpur - Puri Express (tri weekly)
*Chandigarh - Jabalpur Express (bi weekly)
*Bikaner - Gaya Express (weekly)
*Nagpur - Jaipur Express (daily)
*Nagpur - Kolhapur AC Express (daily)
*Miraj - Salem Express (daily via. Hubli)
*Bangalore - Amritsar Express (tri weekly via. Bhopal)
*Trivandrum - Mangalore Express (daily)
*Ernakulam - Dehradun Express (tri weekly)
*Digha - Tirunelveli Express (weekly)
*Ajmer - Jammutawi Express (daily)
*Howrah - Bareily Express (daily)
*Ranchi - Pune Express (tri weekly)
*Tirunelveli - Pune Express (4 days a week)
*Guwahati - Machilipatnam Express (bi weekly)
*Jaynagar - Bareily Express (daily)
*Jammutawi - Vizag Express (tri weekly via. Warangal)
*Pune - Mysore AC Express (daily)
*Pune - Udaipur Express (tri weekly)
*Ajmer - Palampur Intercity Express (daily)
*Chandigarh - Jaynagar Express (bi weekly)
*Amritsar - Malayaduthirai Express (weekly)
*Indore - Durg Express (daily via. Raipur - Bilaspur - Katni - Bina)
*Indore - Bangalore Express (bi weekly)
*Mumbai - Surat Intercity Express (daily via. Manmad)
*Vasco - Gorakhpur Express (bi weekly)
*Guwahati - Shriganga Nagar Express (weekly)
*Guwahati - Madgaon Express (bi weekly)
*Guwahati - Amritsar Express (weekly)
*Howrah - Valsad Express (weekly via. Manmad)
*Mumbai CST - Tata Express (bi weekly via. Allahabad)
*Chandigarh - Mumbai CST Express (4 days a week via. Surat - Ajmer - Jaipur - Ambala)
*Jaipur - Bhuj Express (daily)
*Habibganj - Ranchi Express (weekly)
*Jabalpur - Dehradun Express (tri weekly)
*Bilaspur - Bhopal Express (daily via. Nagpur)
*Tirupati - Coimbatore Express (5 days a week)
*Puri - Guwahati Express (daily via. Howrah)
*Puri - Mumbai CST AC Express (bi weekly)
*Kanpur - Gaya Intercity Express (daily)
*Dehradun - Pune Express (bi weekly)
*Agra - Pune AC Express (4 days a week)
*Indore - Pune AC Express (bi weekly via. Bhopal)
*Patna - Howrah Shatabdi Express (5 days a week)
*Guwahati - Howrah Shatabdi Express (bi weekly)
*Indore - Bhopal Jan Shatabdi Express (daily)
*Indore - New Delhi Link Shatabdi Express (6 days a week via. Bhopal)
*Muzaffarpur - Jodhpur Express (weekly)
*Ernakulam - Guwahati Express (weekly)
*Chennai - Ahmedabad AC Express (tri weekly)
*Varanasi - Kolhapur Express (daily)
*Sainagar Shirdi - Howrah Express (daily)
*Sainagar Shirdi - Jaipur Express (tri weekly)
*Sainagar Shirdi - Trivandrum Express (weekly)
*Tirupati - Hubli Intercity Express (daily)
*Ajmer - Vishakhapatnam Express (weekly)
*Asansol - Trivandrum Express (tri weekly)
*Howrah - Kanpur Express (daily)
*Gwalior - Mumbai Express (weekly)
*Chhindwara - New Delhi Express (tri weekly)
*Chhindwara - Rewa Express (daily via. Jabalpur)

A list of passenger train services have been identified in between :
*Bhopal - Jabalpur via. Itarsi
*Varanasi - Agra
*Howrah - Barbil
*Patna - Ranchi
*Danapur - Gorakhpur
*Danapur - Bilaspur
*Mumbai - Pune
*Kolhapur - Pune
*Ahmedabad - Bhuj
*Tirunelvelli - Salem
*Hubli - Ernakulam
*Jammutawi - Una via. Amritsar
*Vadodara - Jaipur
*Indore - Bina
*Chengannur - Salem via. Chennai



So anyhow gross injustice for Odisha in general and Rourkela in particular, the region paying the highest revenue in the country. Why Railways is possessing a step-motherly attitude towards Rourkela is unkown. In the past, trains like Tapaswini, Samaleswari and Ispat have been extended; trains like Hirakhand,Hirakud have been diverted and trains like Rourkela-Jharsuguda, Rourkela-Biramitrapur, Rourkela-Howrah passengers have been cancelled. Now Utkal and Samaleswari are not plying! God only knows the future of these tarins

When Tapaswini was extended , the condition was to extend a Delhi bound train upto Rourkela, which is hanging till now. Recently many trains like Jammu Tawi Express, Jallianwalabagh, Gorakhpur Express, Garib Rath, Chhapra Express have been demanded to be extended up to Rourkela, however have been denied again.

No long distance train now terminates at Rourkela due to lack of a passenger coach terminal (coaching complex) which will have washing line, ac charging and maintenance facilities as well. This important infrastructure has been neglected again. The revenue generated from this region is spent on metro cities, North East, Jammu Kashmir and other states. If providing connectivity will help in curbing terrorism, separatist activities, insurgency in J&K and North-East why Odisha and Chotanagapur Plateau is being neglected as it is the haven of red rebels (naxalites) now?

Passenger fares will not be increased, but who will pay for the increased amenities, Durontos, AC trains, etc.? Certainly freight and again the centre will be the mineral rich region of Odisha.


Tata,Ranchi and Kharagpur are gaining a lot from the revenue generated from Rourkela. The railway authorities at Tata have planned everything in such a manner that Rourkela will not get a single train in future. If any thing happens to Howrah-Mumbai mainline, then Tata or Ranchi and even Kharagpur are not going to lose anything but Rourkela will suffer the most. It should be noted that in the last budget Barwadih-Chirmiri line was sanctioned, which will be ready by 2014. With the commissioning of this line the distance between Howrah and Mumbai will be reduced by 400 kms hence the present Howrah-Mumbai mainline is endangered. In future only freight trains will ply on this line, if the situation remains the same. There is hardly any Odia in South Eastern Railway now and maximum are from Bihar and the rest from Bengal

The repeated biasing attitude of South Eastern Railways has created the much awaited demand of a new Rourkela Division administered by East Coast Railways.

Not only political parties but the common people the general public should rise in protest, railrokos should be organized, MPs,State,Centre,Railways should be pressurized. Everything should be done for the right of Rourkela.

Railway Minister Ms. Banerjee should be made understood that Railways belongs the whole country not only Bengal, and the document she is reading out in the House is Railway Budget, not a Bengali poem, not any “Rabindra Gaan”. Parliament House is not the place to showcase your co-curricular activities, your talent.

If MP Hemananda Biswal is unable to do anything then he should resign immedietly without any further wastage of public money.