Bondamunda railway station

Bondamunda railway station, located in the Indian state of Odisha, serves Bondamunda and Rourkela in Sundergarh district.HistoryThe Nagpur-Asansol main line of Bengal Nagpur Railway came up in 1891 and the cross-country Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line started functioning in 1900.After independence of India, this area saw a lot of activity. In the 1950s when Rourkela Steel Plant was being constructed, a marshalling yard was set up at Bondamunda to cater to the requirements of bulk transportation. New lines were added. A 170km line was constructed to establish a direct link with Ranchi. Bondamunda was connected to Barsuan iron ore mines in 1960 and the line was extended to Kiriburu in 1964. The marshalling yard is the second largest in India.Bondamunda was electrified in 1961-62.Locomotive shedsTwo locomotive sheds, one for steam locomotives and the other for diesel locomotives, was set up at Bondamunda in the fifties. The steam locomotive shed was closed in the late eighties. An electric locomotive shed was started in 1983 for accommodating six WAM 4 locomotives. It increased to 50 within a short period. As of 2012, it accommodates 110 electric locomotives and is being expanded.Bimlagarh-Talcher projectThe 156km long line connecting Bimlagarh on the Bondamunda-Barsuan branch line and Talcher on the Sambalpur-Talcher-Barang branch line, was sanctioned in 2004-05 and construction is in progress. This line when complete would reduce the distance between Rourkela and Bhubaneswar, the state capital, from 460 km (via Sambalpur) to 300 km.