SAMBALPUR: Sambalpur Railway Division will get a Routine Overhaul (ROH) depot near Sarla railway station in the city by November next year.
Sambalpur Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), East Coast Railway Pradeep Kumar said work on the ROH project began in March this year but had to be stopped due to the lockdown. Subsequently, work resumed on April 27. “We have set a target to complete the work by November 2021,” he said.
The ROH depot is being developed over a land measuring 1400x56 metres at an estimated cost of Rs 90 crore.
The Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) is executing the project.Currently, wagons are sent to a depot in Visakhapatnam for overhauling.
The depot near Sarla railway station will have the capacity to overhaul 100 wagons in one month.
Earlier, the ROH depot was proposed to be established near Maneswar railway station but the location was changed considering the advantage of Sarla which is situated along the Sambalpur-Jharsuguda railway line.
The depot near Sarla will mainly overhaul alumina wagons.
The aluminium industries including Vedanta Limited in Jharsuguda and Aditya Aluminium Limited in Sambalpur are located along the Sambalpur-Jharsuguda railway line.
Wagons require complete overhauling in 18 months to ensure safety.