Central Railway’s Nagpur Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Vinayak Garg has said that work on the Godhani chord line is being accelerated to ease congestion at Nagpur railway station and improve operational efficiency for trains travelling towards Howrah and other destinations in eastern India.
Explaining the need for the project, Garg said trains arriving from the Delhi direction and heading towards Howrah currently enter Nagpur station, where locomotives have to be reversed before proceeding towards Kalamna. The process, along with other operational requirements, takes nearly an hour.
“Once the Godhani chord line becomes operational for passenger trains, services will be able to move directly from Godhani to Kalamna without entering Nagpur station. The travel time for this movement will reduce from around an hour to nearly 15 minutes,” he said.
The existing chord line at Godhani is presently used mainly for freight operations. Railways is now upgrading the route to passenger train standards, and the work is progressing rapidly, Garg said.
As part of the broader development plan, Godhani station is being upgraded into a major rail hub under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. The project includes construction of four new high-level platforms, escalators, lifts and foot overbridges on both sides of the station to improve passenger convenience. Work on the new station building is at an advanced stage, while a spacious circulating area is also being developed.
With the city expanding towards the northern side, Godhani is emerging as an important railway node. Authorities aim to provide facilities at the station comparable to those available at Nagpur railway station.
Garg said Godhani has the potential to evolve into a secondary terminal for Nagpur, much like Ajni, which is also being developed as an alternative railway station. In the future, some north-bound and originating trains could be operated directly from Godhani, reducing passenger dependence on the city’s main railway station.
Railway officials are targeting completion of major works related to the chord line and station redevelopment by December. Garg said progress is being closely monitored through regular site inspections and monthly reviews.
Officials believe the Godhani chord line will significantly improve train operations, reduce congestion at Nagpur station and provide additional capacity to support the city’s growing rail traffic demands.
A portion of the chord line falls under the jurisdiction of South East Central Railway (SECR), which has already stated that the necessary infrastructure work for passenger train movement on its section has been completed.
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