By IANS,
Kolkata : This metropolis needs at least three more terminals to split the growing rail traffic load, chairman of parliamentary standing committee on railways Basudeb Acharia said Saturday. “Passenger rate in Eastern and South-Eastern railway is growing by 4.5 percent per year. In fact, Kolkata is the second city after Mumbai which records the maximum number of people travelling by trains every day,” Acharia told reporters after a standing committee meeting here.
“Besides, every year new industries, including steel plants, are coming up in West Bengal. In total, there is a growth of eight percent in rail traffic, including passengers and goods. Hence, keeping in mind the situation after five years from now, we feel there is a need for at least three more railway terminals in Kolkata to distribute and accommodate the traffic burden.”
The three terminals now are at Sealdah station, Howrah station and Kolkata station (also called Chitpur Terminus).
According to the data given by Acharia, six million people travel by train every day in Mumbai, while in Kolkata, the figure is 3.5 million a day.
Acharia also said the committee has suggested to the central government an increase in the number of coaches in the trains to increase passenger capacity.
“In face of the growing passenger traffic, we have suggested to the centre that if we increase the number of coaches from 9 to 12 in all trains, then the train capacity will increase by 30 percent.”
“But for that all railway platforms have to be elongated to accommodate the 12-coach trains. This will take some time to materialise,” Acharia said.
The chairman further said the committee has demanded ladies special trains in all sections.
“Our representatives recently visited the stations here during office hours (9-10 a.m.) and saw how women are suffering because of the peak hour pressure. If there can be special trains for women in other cities, then why not in Kolkata? We have demanded ladies special trains here too that will run in all sections.”