New rail line to offer picturesque journey experience to travellers

Ramgarh: The 27km-long stretch in Ramgarh which is part of 66km Barkakana-Ranchi new railway route when opened to public will give them a thrilling experience as the train would cross high railway bridges and a series of tunnels through the hills.
With completion of Barkakana-Ranchi new rail route which is part of the Koderma-Ranchi via Hazaribag rail project, Ramgarh will get a place on the railway map of the country. It was announced by Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led coalition government in the rail budget of 1999. Construction work on this stretch is considered most difficult because of the hilly terrain. It has been completed with an estimated expense of Rs 3,800 crore. Birendra Kumar, chief public relation officer (CPRO), East Central Railway, Hajipur Zone, said that 202 km-long Koderma-Ranchi line via Barkakana junction is now ready for train movement.
As many as four tunnels have been made on the hills between Sidhwar and Sanki villages in the 27km-long stretch. While the longest tunnel is 1,700 metre (1.7km), three other tunnels are 600 metre each, said a senior railway officer, adding that there are five railway bridges too to connect the hills.
The state government and ministry of railways have shared 50:50 cost contribution for the project. The 80km-long Koderma-Hazaribag section was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of then chief minister Raghubar Das, railway minister Suresh Prabhu, Union minister of state for railways, Manoj Sinha, and local MP-cum-the then Union minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha. Part of the same project — 57km long Hazaribag-Barkakana section of the route was opened by railway minister Suresh Prabhu on December 7, 2016 making the entire 137km long stretch operational.