ROURKELA: The South Eastern Railway (SER) has agreed to set up a subway and sought consent of the Odisha government to share half the project cost.
If both sides agree, then the subway would come in addition to the ongoing road-over-bridge (ROB) project over the busy Kalunga level-crossing (LC) 215 which has been lingering for years.
The move comes after two commuters were run over by a speeding train while two others suffered critical injuries at the level-crossing on December 17, 2024 night when they tried to get across through the tracks due to closure of the gate.
In a letter to the principal secretary of Works department on January 28, the chief engineer of SER cited that the ROB project is under construction on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis. The SER’s share stood at Rs 25.27 crore while the state share was Rs 30.87 crore.
The letter said, as per the instruction of the Railway Board, during the construction of ROB for the elimination of an LC, a subway should also be built on a cost-sharing basis. In case of the Kalunga LC 215, the subway project was not taken up in the absence of public demand.
Located on the busy Howrah-Mumbai main line, the Kalunga LC has eight tracks and on average 154 trains pass through it daily. It also witnesses a substantial vehicular load - 4,930 two-wheelers, 758 three-wheelers, 3,245 four-wheelers.
As per the SER’s own admission, the ongoing ROB project sanctioned in 2016-17 which was originally targeted to be completed by December 2025 would take another three years. Fifty per cent work on railway portion has been completed but progress of the approach stretch of the bridge constructed by the Odisha Bridge Construction Corporation (OBCC) is zero.
The letter said the subway adjacent to the level-crossing is estimated to cost about Rs 7.25 crore and asked for consent of Work Department to share Rs 3.62 crore. It also urged for necessary instruction to authorities concerned for expeditious completion of the approach of the ROB.
At a meeting on Saturday, members of the Kalunga Bikash Parishad (KBP) thanked Union Tribal Affairs minister and Sundargarh MP Jual Oram as well as deputy Speaker BS Bhoi for nudging the SER to take up the subway project. They also urged Odisha government to urgently provide matching fund.
KBP secretary Asif Iqbal said the subway would allow unrestricted movement of pedestrians and light motor vehicles and help reduce congestion. The Kalunga LC gate at times remains closed for 45 minutes forcing longer detention of incoming and outgoing trucks of local industries and other vehicles and pedestrians.