East Coast Railway to upgrade MEMU car shed at Khurda Road

Bhubaneswar: Considering increase in number of MEMU trains, East Coast Railway (ECoR) will upgrade the MEMU car shed at Khurda Road by spending around Rs 20 crore. It is also eyeing Phase-III expansion as the number of MEMU trains will rise in the coming days.Sources from the Khurda Road railway division said the process of capacity enhancement, testing and training facilities, scrap management, and staff welfare works have started. “This work will be completed within the next 2-3 years. We will also create an extra rail line (stabling line) inside the shed to park the MEMU cars,” said an officer of the division.The MEMU car shed at Khurda Road, the only MEMU maintenance facility of ECoR, continues to play a pivotal role in sustaining and strengthening daily passenger and suburban train services across Odisha. The shed is important for ensuring reliable MEMU operations, added the sources.The MEMU shed started on June 22, 2018. At present, it maintains 50 MEMU units comprising 200 coaches and supports the operation of 42 Up and Down MEMU Passenger Train Services daily, catering to around 1.32 lakh passengers every day.Phase-I construction, sanctioned during 2007-08 and completed in 2018 at an estimated cost of Rs 18.69 crore, provided two maintenance lines of four-coach length each. Phase-II construction, completed in July 2023 at an expenditure of Rs 84.99 crore, added major facilities including two 16-coach length inspection lines, one wheel turning line, two heavy repair bay lines and a washing line, substantially enhancing maintenance capability, said an official statement from the Khurda Road railway division.The shed is now equipped to maintain around 400 MEMU coaches. “To meet future traffic growth, plans are in place for further capacity augmentation, conversion of existing rakes into longer formations and induction of new 3-Phase MEMU rakes. After getting nod from the Railway Board, Phase-III construction will start,” said the sources.