CM’s four-lane road plan hits roadblock

The recent move of CM Nitish Kumar to seek the R-Block-Digha Ghat railway land from the railways to build a 4 lane road has evoked a mixed response from technical experts of the railways.  Most of them feel the 147-year-old tracks should not be dismantled.

According to these experts, since the road traffic in Patna has almost reached a saturation point, the railway traffic is the only alternative mode of transportation in and around the state capital. Besides, the situation will become more difficult when the Digha–Sonepur Railway Bridge is commissioned in 2012-13.

The railways will have to work out in advance its plan to cope with unprecedented rush of traffic flow.

The Digha-Patna Ghat railway line would be the only option as an important interchange point for various streams of traffic, they said.

The Digha-Patna Ghat should be developed as a circular railway or ring railway link service on the pattern of Kolkata or Delhi to cater to the needs of the common people instead of dismantling the old tracks, the railways and state government must work out a common programme to improve the traffic system in Patna.  This track could be used to run metro rail service in future, said former railway chief engineer G N Sahay. Seems non feasible to convert it into 4 lane road, hence no dismantling is meaningful. And it should be remained for future expension of railways as it. A six months back study says PATNA-GHAT-DIGHA GHAT rail link has no traffic volume.