Naraj Station should be developed as an alternate access point for Cuttack
Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Cuttack, ECOR, Railways, Talcher - Barang March 3rd. 2009, 12:55pmNaraj Station lies across Kathjodi river about 1 km away from the bridge. It is about 2 kms from the proposed 2nd campus of Ravenshaw university, 3-4 km from Bidanasi-CDA and within 1 km from the proposed Sri Sri University.
Several trains in the BBS (Bhubaneswar)-SBP (Sambalpur) line such as 2893 (BBS-BLGR superfast), 8304 (Puri-SBP Intercity), 8405 (Puri-ADI), 8507 (VSK-ASR) skip Cuttack and go via Naraj without stopping there. By developing the Naraj station a bit more, developing the road between the station and the bridge, and introducing stops at Naraj station people in Cuttack will be able to easily access these trains.
Many trains between Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur do go via Cuttack.
However, the reason some trains (especially intercity trains) from Bhubaneswar towards Sambalpur skip Cuttack and go via Naraj is that they save 24 kms if they go via Naraj.
This saving will be very important if an intercity between Bhubaneswar and Rourkela is to be introduced. Currently the fastest connection between Bhubaneswar and Rourkela is 2832/33 HTE Garib Rath. It covers 443 kms and takes 7 hr 50 minutes. By skipping Cuttack and using Naraj as an access point to Cuttack the distance will reduce to 419 kms (See 2893 and 2832 distance between Bhubaneswar and Dhenkanal for the difference), which is more comfortable for an intercity train.
Naraj is really very close to Cuttack; much close to Cuttack than Barang or the proposed station between Barang and Patia. Also, Naraj station is much closer to the newer parts of Cuttack (such as CDA and Bidanasi) than the Cuttack station. Also, a lot of development is planned near Naraj that includes the Sri Sri University, National Law University and 2nd campus of Ravenshaw University. The following map from wikimapia shows where Naraj station lies vis-a-vis Cuttack. In the map below Naraj station is in the left bottom corner.
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March 3rd, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I beg to differ. Already work is underway for tripling of lines between Khurda Road and Barang, apart from doubling of Barang to Cuttack. So I dont think there is any immediate requirement of providing more terminal facilities at Cuttack. Also the Naraj line is used to divert a large amount of freight trains, so it should be left alone to earn money for Indian Railways. Also there is some progress in developing a very good terminal near Barang, which isnt exactly very far off from Cuttack.
March 3rd, 2009 at 1:54 pm
I am yet to complete this.
March 4th, 2009 at 7:57 am
I am still not in support. For the reasons that I have given in my previous comment. Neither Cuttack nor Bhubaneswar are big enough cities to warrant more than one terminal. After the new terminal comes up, all problems shall be solved for the Bhubaneswar Cuttack region. As for better connectivity for Cuttack are to Sambalpur and Rourkela regions, after the 2nd bridegs over the Kuakhia and Katjori are over and Barang to Cuttack becomes double line, a few more trains can very easily be routed through Cuttack without much disruption of present schedules, and without causing too much increase in journey times, as the difference in distances is not very much.
A major reason why the railways does not want to route too many trains through Cuttack, is the fact that the 4 consecutive river crossings, over single line track, is a major bottle neck in the whole line between Howrah and Chennai. Once the 2nd bridges are complete, the bottleneck dissapears, allowing for more trains to be routed through Cuttack.
Thoug yes I am definitely in support of increasing facilities at Cuttack station. The layout of Cuttack is not very good. I think that can be solved with much more ease, and will serve a larger purpose as well.
March 4th, 2009 at 9:40 am
I am not talking of a terminal. I am talking of a station where express trains can stop and there is enough infrastructure (more from the Orissa govt side), such as roads, auto-rickshaw stands, etc. so that people from Cuttack can get to Naraj and back without difficulty and without worries that once they get down they can not get back to Cuttack safely.
March 4th, 2009 at 10:04 am
If I remember correctly, Naraj station does not have the requiste facilities to handle an express train stop. So you will require some investment to make a big enough platform for long express trains. Apart from making road connection to Naraj station, better.
But I still support development of the present Cuttack station, and diversion of a few more trains via Cuttack station, once doubling is complete.
March 4th, 2009 at 10:58 am
From the Railways side, facilities like what they have in Talcher road (where express trains stop) would be enough to start with.
For intercity trains the extra distance of 24 kms going through Cuttack matters. For that reason (and freight reasons), the two intercity type trains also skip Talcher and stop in Talcher Road. Many others take the longer route via Talcher.
March 4th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
The reason for skipping Talcher station is something different. The distance does not make much of a difference in the case of Talcher. But if you look at the layout of track around Talcher, you shall see Talcher is a end station. So the locomotive has to change ends, causing a huge loss of time. And as Talcher is not such a important city for express trains, a stop at Talcher is provided only for a few trains. For this exact reason you shall see trains official stoppage time at Talcher is quite high in the range of 20mins, which is more than stoppage time of some trains at Bhubaneswar.
But if you look at the track layout around Cuttack, you shall see that not much difference will be there if you go via Cuttack or via Naraj towards Sambalpur. This is because now trains slow down at Barang Jn, to take the line towards Naraj, and then at Rajatgarh Jn to take the line towards Sambalpur. If you go via Cuttack, you can pass right through Barang, stop at Cuttack and slow down only once at Nergundi Jn to take the line towards Sambalpur. The whole process should add conservatively about 20mins to the travelling time. Including a 10min stop at Cuttack.
March 4th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
You wrote:
From the wikimapia map it looks like going from Barang to Cuttack one has to slow down because of the sharp curve and going from Barang to Naraj it is a more gentle curve. Is there something I am missing.
March 4th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
No, sir the sharp curve does not cause much of a problem. Trains can take it at reasonable speeds. But you have to change track if you have to go towards Naraj. Changing track is generally limited to 10kmph. Thus trains need to slow down more to go towards Naraj than towards Cuttack. The same is the case at Rajathgarh and at Nergundi.
Trains need not slow down to stay on the straight track, but only to change track.
March 4th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Thanks about the information on speed needed to change tracks.