With a view to streamline the administration of East Coast Railway (ECoR) and improve rail facilities for passengers and bulk customers, the Orissa government has requested the Ministry of Railways to create a new railway division at Rayagada under the jurisdiction of the zonal railway.
The new rail lines proposed under this division are Nuapada-Gunpur with extension to Rayagada/Therubali, Rayagada-Titlagarh-Raipur, Koraput-Rayagada, Koraput-Jeypore-Jagdalpur, Lanjigarh Road-Junagarh and also railway lines in Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur districts. This was informed by minister for commerce & transport Sanjeev Kumar Sahoo in the state assembly.
"Expansion of the jurisdiction of ECoR has become a necessity in the light of of the recent industrial projects coming up in Orissa for ensuring better coordination and facilitation of bulk customers. We have requested the Ministry of Railways to either extend the jurisdiction of Sambalpur division to include Jharsuguda-Barsuan-Kiriburu, Rourkela-Nuagaon and Jharsuguda-Himgiri or create a new division with headquarters at Rourkela/Jharsuguda under the jurisdiction of ECoR. Likewise, the jurisdiction of ECoR may be extended to include Banspani-Padapahar, Rupsa-Bangriposi and Bhadrak-Laxmannath road sections and a new railway division should be set up with headquarters at Jajpur-Keonjhar Road”, Sahoo stated.
The Orissa government has requested the Ministry of Railways to sanction Rs 2085 crore for the state in the current financial year for various railway projects including new rail links, extension of existing rail links, improvement in passenger amenities, introduction of new trains and increase in frequency of trains.