Decongestion of Kalupur on track

AHMEDABAD: To decongest the Kalupur railway station, the Ahmedabad railway division has decided to increase the number of platforms at the Sabarmati station and to ensure that the trains for the northern parts of the country which originate from Ahmedabad start their journey from Sabarmati rather than Kalupur.
“The Sabarmati station will have at least six platforms. The project has been sanctioned,” said divisional railway manager Dinesh Kumar. “Delhi-bound trains will originate from the Sabarmati station instead of the Kalupur station. However, trains coming from Mumbai and heading towards the north will halt at the Kalupur station.”

Kumar said that at present locomotives and drivers are changed for each train heading towards the north and so trains are halted at the Kalupur station for nearly 20 minutes. But since the electrification project to Delhi has been approved, trains won’t need to halt at Kalupur. He said that with the double track being laid on the Delhi route, and with the electrification in place, travel time for trains such as Rajdhani might be reduced by nearly two hours.

Kumar said that to clear space at the Kalupur station, the railways are planning to set up an exclusive line for goods train from Geratpur to Sanand. In all, 145 trains pass through or originate from the Kalpur station every day.

Another senior officer that said to ease congestion of train traffic, the railways are developing Sabarmati as a satellite station and trains coming from the north can be terminated there. The station will be ready for use by December. He said that some trains may be allowed to halt briefly at Maninagar and so trains to the north or Saurashtra coming from Mumbai can make a longer halt at Sabarmati.

The officer said that with the Metro connecting Sabarmati and Kalupur stations, connectivity would not be an issue for commuters.