ROURKELA: A delegation of South Eastern Railway Men’s Congress (SERMC) on Thursday met Union Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and handed him over a memorandum of demands including introduction of a new train from Bondamunda in Rourkela to Tirupati and Vellore.
Led by former union minister and senior BJP leader Dilip Ray, the delegation during its meeting with Vaishnaw proposed the new train to cater to the demands of pilgrims and patients.
Bondamunda, a key junction of South Eastern Railway (SER) on the Howrah-Mumbai main line, around 10 km from Rourkela, houses several vital installations of the SER including the country’s second largest marshalling yard, a diesel loco shed and an electric loco shed.
This apart, Ray sought increasing the frequency of 18105 Jaynagar Express (weekly) and extension of 20809 Nagavalli Express to Rourkela.
The BJP leader said prior to Covid-19 pandemic, 18030 Mumbai LTT Express, 18005 Samaleswari Express, 18190 Tatanagar Express, 18478 Kalinga Utkal Express, 13278 South Bihar Express, 18109 Itwari Express, 18113 Bilaspur Express and 18452 Tapaswini Express had regular stoppages at Bondamunda.
But, post-pandemic stoppages of the prominent trains at Bondamunda have not yet been restored as a result of which general passengers and railway employees of the region continue to face difficulties.
Ray further demanded leasing out of unused SER land for implementing housing projects, and introduction of staff shuffle service between Rourkela and Tatanagar.