Chhayapuri turns into satellite station, to help improve connectivity

The Western Railway has now developed the Chhayapuri a small station near Vadodara Junction into a satellite station Situated on the bypass chord connecting Vadodara ndash Ahmedabad line and Vadodara ndash Ratlam line Chhayapuri will now serve as an additional station for the city of Vadodara for trains running on Ahmedabad ndash Ratlam and onwards routeConsidering the importance and passenger facilities that Chhayapuri station will provide to the area and nearby Ministry of Railways has approved operations of 13 trains from Chhayapuri station from December 17 2019 onwards Western Railway has decided to divert 13 important trains and these trains will be given stoppage at Chhayapuri station The booking of advance reservation for these trains will start from August 31 2019Ravinder Bhakar Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway told midday that due to Vadodara stations typical Y shaped junction layout where the line from Mumbai divides into two where one goes towards Ahmedabad and the other goes towards Ratlam ndash New DelhiThe operation of trains from Ahmedabad to Ratlam ndash New Delhi route amp vice versa requires reversal of train at Vadodara station At present 19 pairs of trains are operated from Ahmedabad to Ratlam ndash Delhi via Vadodara This requires detaching of engines and attaching it to the other end of the train which leads to the detention of trains congestion at Vadodara station as platforms are occupied for a longer duration detention of engine wastage of man hours etcIt is worth mentioning that Vadodara station is a junction station connecting the two very important routes of Mumbai ndash New Delhi line of Golden Quadrilateral and Mumbai ndash Ahmedabad line The station caters to around 200 trains daily and some of the important trains that halt at Vadodara station are Mahamana Express Rajdhani Express Duronto Antyodaya etc It is an A1 category station and has 7 platformsIn the last 5 years 80 new trains were added and the number will further increase in future Bhakar also stated that in the future the National HighSpeed Rail Corridor passing through Vadodara has also planned a station at Vadodara The construction work of highspeed tracks will require the closure of platform No 6 and 7 for longer duration thereby further congesting the Vadodara station even furtherChhayapuri station will turn saviour for passengers and commuters in that area as it will ease the congestion of Vadodara station Chhayapuri station has 2 fulllength platforms for 26 coach trains and 2 loop lines Hence the trains on Ahmedabad ndash Ratlam line and vice versa will not be required to undergo reversal at Vadodara Junction This will save around 27 minutes per train and ease Vadodara station of congestionThe total cost of the project is Rs 43 crores This will pave the way for the introduction of more train on these routes and also improve the punctuality The areas surrounding the Chhayapuri station will see a spurt in development as the new station will open the doors to opportunities and convenienceAlso ReadMumbai Central becomes 1st station where Polluter PaysSome of the benefits of the project areIt will eliminate the reversal of trains at Vadodara Trains will now move through chord line avoiding the Vadodara Jn This will reduce travel time by 3040minsThis will free 4 critical paths at Vadodara improving mobility and punctualityLoco movement to and from shed will reduce thereby decongesting Vadodara areaChhayapuri will be a new NSG4 class station in Vadodara area Trains can be given preference here This will increase the terminal capacity of Vadodara areaIt will reduce vehicular traffic congestion around Vadodara Railway stationIt will reduce the requirements of shunters at Vadodara resulting in an increase in crew availability for freight trainsSatellite stations help in expansion of cities and reducing congestion in the city centre Surrounding areas of Chhayapuri station will see development as a result of this stationSalient features of the New Chhayapuri Satellite StationThere are two Main Lines and 2 Loop Lines of full lengthStation has two fulllength platforms to accommodate 26 coach trainsCurrently there are two lifts and one foot over bridge at the stationOperation from Chhayapuri station will save approx 27 mins per trainA total of 19 pairs of trains including weekly trains can be divertedThe new station will be equipped with stateoftheart facilities amp officesThe total cost of the project is Rs 43 croresCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates