In an innovative effort to use its vacant lands and meet the growing demand for affordable boarding and lodging facilities, the Railways have decided to set up ‘Yatri Niwas’ or budget hotel near Tatanagar railway station.

According to information, a team of officials from Railway land Development Authority (RlDA) in New Delhi has already identified the site for setting up the facility keeping in view the convenience of the passengers. The proposed hotel or Yatri Niwas will come up at the railway land opposite Tatanagar station along the Station-Parsudih Road presently having a lines of eateries set up on encroached land.  

Sources informed that the Chakradharpur railway division has already cleared a portion of its land from the encroachment and the work for the facility will start once the rest of the eateries are removed.

“There is a huge demand for affordable lodging facilities from railway users, passengers, and tourists in Tatanagar. We are working on adopting the best financial models for developing these properties, which would help the passengers in big way,” an officer said. He added that the steps are being taken to release surplus railway land for commercial use. Steps will be taken up for commercial development of railway land/air space and property.

A senior railway official of the Chakradharpur railway division confirmed that Tatanagar and Ranchi railway stations have been selected of 50 model stations across the country and the additional facility for lodging and food is being planned keeping in view of Tatanagar being tagged as the model stations.

An RlDA team had recently visited Jamshedpur near the Tatanagar railway station for identifying site

Senior divisional engineer, Chakradharpur, RP Saraswat Kumar said: “RlDA has a plan for setting up hotel at the railway land opposite the station. The railway land is presently encroached by make shift shops and we have already started clearing the land. The legal procedure to remove encroachment from the rest of the railway land is still on”.

Recently, the five-decade-old famous eating point near Tatanagar railway station was razed during an anti-encroachment drive carried out jointly by the railway and the police. The decision was taken after court order from the Jamshedpur civil court. The South Eastern Railway authorities led an anti-encroachment drive to vacate the premises.

The Tatanagar station assumes importance in view because it is located on the Howrah-Mumbai main route. Several important trains travel via Tatanagar, including the high-profile Rajdhani Express and Duronto Express. The station sees a daily traffic of 90 mail, express and passenger trains, besides a footfall of more than 60,000 passengers.