Nayagarh: The first train services rolled into Nayagarh district in 2017. Residents of this district had then thought that there travelling woes from Nayagarh to other parts of Odisha would finally end. Little did they know then that the problems would remain to bother them. The regular disruption of train services has become a matter of concern for the residents here.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the prevailing train services, the residents have demanded the restoration of passenger trains from Nayagarh Town station to Puri. They also demanded trains from Nayagarh to Kharagpur and Berhampur which has been hanging in limbo for years now. The residents alleged that they have written several letters to the Indian Railways. However, they are yet to get any positive reply.
Train services were suspended in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak around two years ago. As the Covid-19 situation has already normalised in the state, essential train services need to be restored immediately, they said.
On demands from all quarters, the East Coast Railway had extended train services from Nayagarh to Puri. Two trains used to run from Nayagarh to Puri and back. One train left Nayagarh station at 5.00am while another departed at 9:20am.
However, these services have remained suspended since the outbreak of the pandemic. So people and devotees wanting to visit Puri face a lot of hardship. Also to compound their problems, there is no bus service from Nayagarh to Puri.
A large number of associations have demanded the restoration of train services with immediate effect. They have also requested East Coast Railway to provide for a ‘special’ passenger train to Puri. They also demanded the resumption of construction of the Nuagaon railway station and warned of a massive rally if their demands were not met.
Earlier, there were reports that a special train would run from Nayagarh to Paradip. However, it has remained a non-starter. Preliminary enquiries have revealed that the delay was due to tardy pace of electrification of tracksNuagon.
