This post is based on how a Railway Zone known as South Eastern Railways has exploited the mineral rich industrial region of Odisha, and has always pursued a biased attitude towards the development of the state.
Sundargarh, Jharsuguda and Kendujhargarh districts of Odisha , account for the huge revenue generated by Chakradharpur Division and hence also for South Eastern Railway Zone, but unfortunately remain the most neglected regions in comparison to rail connectivity and facilities in the other part of the country.
Chakradharpur Division of South Eastern Railway has emerged as the highest revenue generating division in the country, a number of times. The sole reason for this is notable achievement is the mineral rich Chotanagpur Plateau region popularly known as “Ruhr of India” due to its innumerable industries. This region comprises of the mineral rich Sundargarh,Kendujhargarh and Jharsuguda Districts of Odisha from where Iron Ore and other minerals are transported throughout the country.
The region also has a number of heavy industries like Rourkela Steel Plant, Rourkela; OCL-Rajgangpur; Tata Refractories, Belpahar,Adhunik Metalliks-Rourkela; L&T- Kansbahal, Bhusan Steel and Powers –Jharsuguda; Vedanta-Jharsuguda; GOCL,Rourkela etc. which pay a huge amount to the railways for transportation of raw materials as well as finished products. Hence a lot of freight activity is noticed in this region.
Odisha state has got 2495 kms. of railway route, of which 337 kms. the highest in the state, passes through Sundargarh District. Only Sundargarh district generates about Rs 800 crores annually, which accounts for 40% of the total revenue generated by Chakradharpur Division. Similarly Jharsuguda is an emerging industrial hub with a number of operating mega projects, while a number of industries are in the offing. Kendujhargarh is popular for its innumerous mines.
So its natural that the people will have high expectations from the Railway Budget every year but most of the times they are met with empty hands.
I. The figures mentioned here are a comparison between the major cities in the region,which are administered by South Eastern Railways i.e. Rourkela, Jamshedpur (Tatanagar) and Ranchi.
City Total Number of Express
Trains
Ranchi 35
Rourkela 30
Tatanagar 37
City Total Number of Express
Trains Terminating
Ranchi 28
Rourkela 02
Tatanagar 06
City Total Frequency
Ranchi 134
Rourkela 132
Tatanagar 166
City Weekly Aavailability
At Stations
Ranchi 268
Rourkela 264
Tatanagar 332
II. List of Express Trains that have been introduced/extended from/to Ranchi, Tatanagar and Rourkela in the last 10 years
RANCHI
Hatia-Lokmanya Tilak(T) Express
Ranchi-Patna Janshatabdi Express
Ranchi-Bhagalpur Vananchal Express
Ranchi-Jaynagar Express
Puri-Hatia Tapaswini Express
Hatia-Patna Express
Ranchi-Dhanbad Intercity Express
Hatia-Yesvantpur Express
Ranchi-Varanasi/Ajmer Garib Nawaz Express
Ranchi-New Delhi Jharkhand Sampark Kranti Express
Ranchi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, via Gomoh
Ranchi-Chopan Express
Ranchi-New Delhi Garib Rath Express
Guwahati-Ranchi Express
Howrah-Ranchi Express via Dhanbad
Hatia-Bhubaneswar Garib Rath Express ( Now Dhanbad-Bhubaneswar Garib Rath Express)
Howrah-Ranchi Express via Kharagpur
Ranchi-Pune Express
ROURKELA
Rourkela-Bhubaneswar Intercity Express
Rourkela-Koraput Express
TATANAGAR
Tata-Yesvantpur Express
Tatanagar-Amritsar Jallianwalabagh Express
Dhanbad-Tatanagar Subarnarekha Express
Asansol-Tatanagar Express
III. Other trains which have been introduced during this period via these stations
RANCHI
Sambalpur-Varanasi Express
Darbhanga-Hyderabad Express
ROURKELA
Howrah-Lokmanya Tilak(T) Samarsata Express
Howrah-Lokmanya Tilak(T) Jnaneswari Express
Hatia-Lokmanya Tialk(T) Express
Howrah-Mumbai Express
Guwahati-Lokmanya Tilak(T) Karmabhoomi Express
Howrah-Shirdi Sai Nagar Express
Hatia-Yesvantpur Express
Dhanbad-Hatia-Bhubaneswar Garib Rath Express
Sambalpur-Varanasi Express
Hyderabad-Darbhanga Express
Santragachi-Hazur Sahib Nanded Express
Santragachi-Porbandar Kavi Guru Express
Ranchi-Pune Express
Shalimar-Udaipur Express
TATANAGAR
Howrah-Lokmanya Tilak(T) Jnaneswari Express
Howrah-Mumbai Express
Guwahati-Lokmanya Tilak(T) Karmabhoomi Express
Howrah-Shirdi Sai Nagar Express
Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express via Tatanagar
Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Odisha Sampark Kranti Express
Shalimar Gorakhpur Express
Santragachi-Hazur Sahib Nanded Express
Santragachi-Porbandar Kavi Guru Express
Shalimar-Udaipur Express
Howrah-Ranchi Express via Kharagpur
Howrah-Barbil Janshatabdi Express
Howrah-Purulia Express
IV. If connectivity of Rourkela to the National Capital is considered , then Rourkela is far behind its counterparts. Only one train i.e. Kalinga Utkal Express which runs between Puri and Haridwar is the sole connectivity to the national capital from the Steel City. However this train bears the brunt of any insurgent activity or any natural calamity in the region. More than a year has passed, this train has not touched Rourkela, after the disastrous Jnaneswari Express mishap on 28th May 2010.
Here is an interesting comparison of different steel cities of India and their connectivity with Delhi
City/Urban Complex No. of Trains No. of Exclusive Trains
Asansol-Durgapur 12 00
Bokaro Steel City 06 00
Durg-Bhilainagar 05 01
Rourkela 01 00
Tatanagar 06 01
Visakhapatnam 04 04
It should be noted that out of the 6 trains from Tatanagar to Delhi, 5 trains are from Odisha (including Rajdhani and Sampark Kranti)! Instead of catering to the needs of the people of the state, these trains are used to satisfy the neighboring Jharkhand State.
V. If we consider the case of local commuter trains, then perhaps Odisha is the only state which is devoid of such service. It should be noted that a number of local trains operate in the neighboring states of Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand, West Bengal,Andhra Pradesh, Bihar etc. but not in Odisha. (A compensatory service operates between Balasore and Kharagpur only).
South Eastern Railway,gets its maximum revenue from Odisha, utilizes. this huge revenue for the betterment of the neighboring states.. Maximum number of EMU/MEMU /DEMU local trains operate in Kharagpur Division only.
While Chakradharpur Division operates 3 pair MEMU Local trains between Kharagpur and Tata; 1 pair of trains between Muri and Tata and another pair between Asansol and Tata , no such service operates in Odisha, from where this division gets its lion’s share revenue.
Following is the list of some local trains operating in South Eastern Railways
MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) Passenger trains
Howrah-Kharagpur : 116 kms. (2 pairs)
Tata-Kharagpur :134 kms.(3 pairs)
Midnapore-Howrah : 129 kms.
Midnapore-Jhargram : 52 kms.
Muri-Tata :104 kms.
Muri-Ranchi : 65 kms
Tata-Asansol : 119 kms.
Adra-Purulia :41 kms.
Adra-Asansol :50 kms.
Adra-Bankura : 53 kms.
Adra-Midnapore : 155 kms
Balasore-Kharagpur : 116 kms
Ranchi-Asansol : 227 kms..
Jhargram-Purulia : 246 kms.
Midnapore-Jhargarm : 52 kms.
DEMU (Diesel Electric Multiple Units) Passenger trains
Digha-Santragachi
Baripada-Rupsa-Balasore :70 kms. (2 pairs)
Rupsa-Baripada
Rupsa-Balasore
Kharagpur-Jhargram ;39 kms
Jhargram-Ghatsila : 59 kms.
It should be noted that Kharagpur-Midnapore MEMU Special train operates for a distance of only 13 kms. ! Also Rourkela-Sambalpur DMU has been officially downgraded to a pair of passenger trains i.e. Rourkela-Jharsuguda and Jharsuguda-Sambalpur. No such commuter train plies in Odisha part of East coast Railway , while many do ply in Andhra part of East Coast Railway.
VI. Construction and survey of new railway lines has not been taken up seriously in the region. The burning example is Talcher-Bimalagarh railway route which could have been a boon to the tribal districts of Sundargarh and Keonjhar is being overlooked since 1885 after the positive cost and benefit analysis.
This route could have proved a boon for the people North - east districts of Odisha as it could have accelerated the development of the region as well as improved connectivity to Coastal Odisha especially between Rourkela City and the capital city of Bhubaneswar. This route would also provide an easy access to Paradeep port from the Chotanagpur Industrial Belt . The cost of this Project was estimated to be Rs.810.78 crores. However with every passing year, this estimate is increasing it is now more than Rs.1000 crores. Now. the funding is much less for this project(about 25 crores.) and the current rate it will take more 20 years to be completed.
Similarly the survey for a new railway line between Bansapani and Barsuan via Bimalagarh and doubling of the track between Dumetra and Champajharan is to be carried on.
VII.No significant steps have been taken by South Eastern Railway, to improve the basic infrastructure in the region. Not even the staff quarters in the railway colonies are in good condition having frequent water and electricity problems. Even no significant education facilities have been provided by South Eastern Railways. Here is a list of such institutions.
Major Hospitals
Garden Reach Medical College and Hospital
Kharagpur Medical College and Hospital
Adra
Chakradharpur
Schools /Colleges/Educational Institutions
SER Mixed Higher Secondary School
S.E. Railway Boys’ Multipurpose High Secondary School
S.E. Railway Mixed High School (New Settlement)
Staff Training
Zonal Training Centre,Sini
Supervisory Training Centre, Kharagpur
S&T Training Centre, Kharagpur
Electrical Training Centre,Tatanagar
Electrical Training Centre, Rourkela
RPF Training Centre,Kharagpur
Major diesel Sheds
Visakhapatnam, Kharagpur and Bondamunda
Major Workshops
Kharagpur
In addition this, several new projects including educational institutions and training centers have been proposed in the last budget for Kharagpur only.
There was a proposal to set up a new 100 electric locomotive capacity shed at Bondamunda, but unfortunately that has been shifted to Kharagpur. Similarly the demand for a Railway Coach factory/ Wagon factory has not yielded any results.
So anyhow , South Eastern Railway has laid its lines in Odisha, not for the development of railway infrastructure of the state, but with the sole motive of exploiting it. As per the figures it can be concluded that the huge revenue generated by Odisha i.e. from the districts of Sundargarh, Jharsuguda and Kendujhargarh is being utilized for the development of Kharagpur,Ranchi and Tatanagar.
Hence without any further delay these districts of Odisha should be freed from the clutches of South Eastern Railway, and should be included in East Coast Railway with a divisional headquarter at Rourkela.
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