Keonjhar: East Coast Railway has decided to run a MEMU train from Kharagpur to Jajpur-Keonjhar Road instead of a passenger one.
Many people had demanded extension of the train service up to Keonjhar. This would have immensely benefitted people of the mineral rich district.
Years ago when the district did not have railway, people used to go to Jajpur Road station. Due to this the station was named Jajpur–Keonjhar Road station.
Jajpur Road is 100 km from Keonjhar. Hundreds of people from this district travel to Kharagpur, Kolkata and New Delhi every day from Jajpur-Keonjhar Road station. Many people from Keonjhar come to Jajpur Road station and go to Tatanagar.
The extension of the Memu train to Keonjhar will help the public as thousands of ore transporting trucks have made road travel dangerous to Jajapur Road station.
In 2014, rail connectivity was established between Sukinda Road and Jajpur-Keonjhar Road station. Train services were also started from Keonjhar to Sukinda Road.
“If the Memu is extended to Keonjhar and a link train is provided to Tatanagar it can generate substantial revenue for the railways,” said Pratip Mohanty, a resident of Keonjhar.
Many trains operate via Jajpur-Keonjhar Road station to Cuttack, Puri, Bhadrak, Balasore and Bhubaneswar. If the Memu train is extended to Keonjhar people would be able to travel to these towns every day.
PNN