Howrah Rajdhani - At 50, the Handsome King 👑 is still ruling the tracks superbly. - Somanko

If any Rail Enthusiast from Maldah (or elsewhere too) may be kind enough to respond... Maldah is among one of Bengal's Top 5 cities (apart from the state capital), and tens of thousands of people travel to and from Maldah and its adjoining stations by train every day. Malda is also the nodal median point connecting North and South Bengal. Very important city/region for trade and tourism. It's really sad that the city's Railway Infrastructure & Services have not seen much upgrade since the time of Gani Khan Chowdhry.

Do you feel...
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it's time Maldah's significance on the country's Railway Map was pumped up? And why all the load/pressure on MLDT? Why are stations within the city's vicnity like Old Malda and Malda Court not beig upgraded into mini-terminal stations with SM capacities? That's why my query, particular to those from Maldah region:

1. Is it possible to carve out separate Railway Zones for Maldah and Bhagalpur, so that Malda can have more independence and flexibility, and Bhagalpur can look after itself and those other neighbouring BR/JH towns?

2. Is it possible to build more platforms (and perhaps rebuild the stations) at Old Malda and Malda Court? Maybe Old Malda can be upgraded to at least 5 platforms - with ample sidelines for Freight/Goods trains, and upto 3 platforms for Malda Court? Lot of empty space adjacent to both of these stations, right? And after these expansions (maybe under Amrit Bharat scheme), trains not based out of MLDT base can be terminated at either of these two stations - to free up MLDT.

3. Is it possible to build a branch line near Banshata P area connecting MLDT and Malda Court, so that there can be train connectivity between both sides of Malda city across Mahananda River? Also, MLDT - Eklakhi Jn.... Third line possible?

4. With these above infrastructure in place, why not make MLDT into a full fledged terminal (with its own CDO base), with new fresh set of SF trains to NDLS, Mumbai, MAS/SMVT, SC/HYB, Udhna/Gujarat, Kerala (most critical need of the hour) and perhaps some other points of North India like a JP or a ASR or a HW/YNRK or a or a JAT/SVDK? You know, like more Pan-India connectivity, so as to ultimately reduce pressure on other Terminals in Kolkata or Bhagalpur or even Katihar/NJP? Plus some additional MEMUs to nearby towns including upto say Berhampore or Krishnanagar or NJP or BLGT or maybe an Intercity/MEMU Express to DGR/ASN... So that you can create a Hub & Spoke Model with MLDT at the centre!

How long will districts like Maldah, the 2 Dinajpurs, Birbhum and Murshidabad continue to burden trains to/from the North East and HWH? It's not possible to build mega terminals at all these points/districts, but MLDT at the epicentre and a Hub & Spoke Model would be sufficient to reduce pressure extensively to all trains passing through the entire Eastern India! Couldn't this prove to be a Win-Win situation for both Railways (ER) and the commuters/passengers of this region?

Thank you for your invaluable time.