ER to construct 22 underpasses at total cost of Rs 123.52 crore

The Eastern Railway (ER) has completed construction of 11 underpasses and is going to construct 22 underpasses at a total cost of Rs 123.52 crore. Amongst this, ten are in Bengal. They further stated their intention to substitute manned level crossing gates by underpasses for passenger and road users safety. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to lay the foundation stone for four underpasses and six will be “dedicated to the nation” on Monday. The total cost of these ten underpasses of Eastern Railway in Bengal is Rs 41.44 crore. Out of the total number, four are in Bandel-Katwa section, four in New Farakka-Azimganj and two are in Krishnanagar-Lalgola section. “The level crossing cuts across the Railway tracks, which poses a safety hazard and at the same time trains are unable to run at full speed while approaching these crossings. Road users are also inconvenienced as they have to wait till the level crossing opens again. It is a problem for the Railways as well as a problem for the people in that area. So we are now developing underpasses by eliminating these level crossings,” the Divisional Railway Manager of Sealdah Deepak Nigam said on Sunday.

The ER GM Milind K Deouskar on Saturday had also stressed on the construction of underpasses at level crossings which are fully funded by the Railway without any land acquisition bottle necks. At present, there are 1017 level crossing gates under ER, of which 844 level crossings are in Bengal.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Sealdah DRM shared that out of the 17 stations under the Sealdah Division selected under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme, foundation stone for nine was laid on August 6, 2023, while for the other eight it will be laid on February 26 for the total cost of about Rs 121 crore.