City to get swanky rly control office

PUNE, Jan 28: Pune Railways will shortly start work on a sophisticated double-storeyed railway control office that is to come up on 5000 square metres of land in the neighbourhood of the upcoming Hotel Meridien to help facilitate its functioning as a separate division. A budget of Rs 9.8 crores has already been sanctioned for the construction. While work has already started on residential quarters for the additional staff that will need to be transferred, a formal notification demarcating the exact limits of the newly announced Pune Division, is awaited before beginning work on the control office, says Divisional Railway Manager A K Verma.

The Pune Division of Central Railway is expected to take over independent control of Pune-Miraj-Kolhapur and Pune-Daund-Baramati following an announcement made by Minister of State for Railways Ram Naik and the need for a separate control office has been felt. Work has already started on new houses for additional railway staff that will have to be brought in from Hubli and Solapur to gear up for the additional responsibilities which have till now been met by the control office at Mumbai.

“The staff strength will have to be increased from the presently allotted 132 to 350 and they will be transferred from Hubli and Solapur and setting up the Control Office will take about two years from the time we receive the Government notification,” Verma added.

According to Naik’s announcement, the Pune Division is expected to taken in 54 km from Mumbai Division and 118 km from the Solapur Division of Central Railway and 328 km of the South Central Railway. Though Verma is unwilling to commit himself till he receives the notification, it is expected that he will have to take over Pune-Daund-Solapur from the Solapur Division and Pune-Miraj-Kolhapur from South Central Railway. Verma promised closer monitoring and quick action in case of faults or accidents once the control is passed on to Pune.