Washing yard mooted at Amb Andaura railway station

Rajesh Sharma

UNA, DECEMBER 25

A washing line for coaches is being mooted at the Amb Andaura railway station in Una district, a move which will not only save revenue, but also avoid the daily movement of long-distance trains to the Nangal railway station for washing.

Sumit Sharma, member, North Zone Consultative Committee, said prior to 1990, the Delhi-Ambala-Chandigarh railway line terminated at Nangal and there was no train service to Una district in Himachal Pradesh. In 1990, the Una railway station was commissioned and train services were extended to Una.

Trains HAVE TO go to Nangal for washing

• Before 1990, the Delhi-Ambala-Chandigarh line terminated at Nangal and there was no train to Una district.
• In 1990, the Una railway station was commissioned and train services were extended to Una.
• The 14-km-long Nangal to Una railway line was extended by 60 km till Daulatpur Chowk in Una district and the Amb Andaura station is located midway on the track.
• However trains have to travel back to Nangal every day for washing and then return to Daulatpur Chowk for the return journeys to Delhi, Nanded Sahib and Jaipur.

He said today, the 14-km-long Nangal to Una railway line had been extended by another 60 km up to Daulatpur Chowk in Una district and the Amb Andaura station is located midway on the track. Further, he said work to extend the track by another 15 km till Mukerian in Punjab to link it with the Jalandhar-Jammu broadgauge line was underway.

He said while the train services had been extended up to Daulatpur Chowk, trains had to travel back to Nangal every day for washing and then return to Daulatpur Chowk for the return journeys to Delhi, Nanded Sahib and Jaipur. Thereby, a 150 km to and fro journey to Nangal for washing is being undertaken needlessly by the trains, he said, adding that a proposal to construct a washing facility on this track was already pending with the Northern Railway and there was plenty of land available for the facility at Amb Andaura station.

He said the Nangal washing yard could accommodate only 16 coaches, while as per the new norms, yards should be able to accommodate 24 coaches. He said Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur had taken up the matter with the Railways for early action.