Rly forms committee to study feasibility of creating rail divisions in Jammu, Gulbarga, Silchar

Five years after new division were announced for Jammu, Gulbarga and Silchar, the Railways has formed a committee to study their feasibility, according to an official order.

Currently, Jammu is under the jurisdiction of Ferozpur division of the Northern Railway zone, and if Jammu becomes a division it will be the first rail division in Jammu and Kashmir.

Gulbarga in Karnataka is in the Pallakad division of Southern Railway and Assam's Silchar is in Lumding division of Northeast Frontier zone.

The committee, comprising senior railway officials, has been given the mandate to analyse and review afresh, the feasibility, financial implications, administrative issues, infrastructural availability for creating the new divisions and submit a report by the month-end.

The Indian Railways' operations are currently divided in 18 zones, which are further sub-divided into divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. There are around 70 divisions presently.

According to an internal document of the railways, the cost of infrastructure for creating a new zone is around Rs 205 crore while creating a new division will cost the national transporter around Rs 29 crore.

These figures exclude extra costs of relating to creating or upgradation of posts, transfer, posting of staff and other such expenditures.

Being a rail division would mean more employment in the region, more development and better train services.