Soon, Rs 200-cr expansion for Jammu rly station

Amit Khajuria

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Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 3

The Jammu Tawi railway station is soon going to get a major uplift as the ‘second entry’ project worth Rs 200 crore is on the cards.

The railway station — which is one of the busiest railway stations in the country — will soon be much bigger and have hi-tech facilities.

The railway station, which caters to 53 pairs of trains daily, including special trains, has three platforms at present. It will get four more platforms on expansion.

According to the railways authorities, the station will have another entry gate from the Narwal side to reduce the rush from the main entry gate. There will be a bigger parking area near the new entry as well.

“It has been named the second entry project as it will provide another entry to the station. The funds have been sanctioned for the project and all technical feasibilities have been checked and cleared at the divisional level. We are now waiting for the final go-head from the Northern Railway headquarters to start the work,” said Naveen Kumar, Divisional Traffic Manager (DTM), Railways, Jammu-Pathankot range.

“The railways land will be used for the expansion of the station so the project will not be delayed,” the DTM said.

To expand the Jammu railway station, the authorities have decided to shift its goods trains to Bari Brahmana for which work is being done.

Some latest equipment will also be added to the railway station to provide more facilities to the passengers. The new platforms will be equipped with escalators, footbridges and subways. The washing lines will also be upgraded to five from the present three.

The station caters to 6.75 lakh passengers every month. Passengers have to face a hard time during during the peak tourism and pilgrimage season as all trains remain full. The station remains busy due to continuous movement of defence personnel and pilgrims and tourists visiting the state.

The expansion of the railway station will increase the scope of adding more trains to the state. The station is currently being upgraded with lifts and escalators to make the journey for the passengers more convenient.