New Giridih railway station, station code NGRH,[1] is a satellite railway station serving the city of Giridih in the Indian state of Jharkhand apart from the existing main Giridih railway station. It is situated nearby to the Khandoli Reservoir-cum-Dam in Gadi, near NH-114A.
New Giridih station is a crossing station located in the Koderma–Maheshmunda line of the Dhanbad railway division in the East Central Railway zone of Indian Railways, which is a part of a larger Madhupur–Giridih–Koderma line single-line broad-gauge rail route extending from Koderma up to Madhupur. The total length of the route is 138 kilometres (86 mi). It has 3 platforms and handles a total of 4 trains daily. The platforms are not well sheltered, and the station lacks many facilities including water and sanitation.
History
A 110 km (68 mi) track from Koderma to Maheshmunda was constructed. This extended the Madhupur–Giridih railway line to Koderma, effectively making it a Madhupur–Giridih–Koderma line. A new station was built on Maheshmunda–Koderma section named as New Giridih (NGRH) which leaves out the already existing station Giridih (GRD) on this route, also making Maheshmunda a junction station. On 16 February 2019, Eastern Railway in its press-release announced a passenger train service w.e.f. 25 February 2019 from Koderma to Madhupur via New Giridih.[2]
Further extension
There are plans from the Railway ministry to connect Parasnath with New Giridih via Madhuban, for the convenience of the Jain pilgrims visiting Shikharji.[3] construction of which was sanctioned and the project included in the Union Budget 2018–19 at a cost of ₹902.86 Crores on a 50:50 cost sharing basis between the Government of Jharkhand and Indian Railways. The foundation stone for construction was laid in 2019. The 49-km long railway line will have two crossing stations and a couple of halts. During the financial year 2022–23, Indian Railways had allotted ₹50 Crores for the above project for early starting of the project. In a land acquisition application submitted to DLAO/Giridih by DyCE/Con/HZME office, ₹78.27 Crores were demanded for Raiyati land of 26 villages and payment for land acquisition is yet awaited for deposition of fund from Government of Jharkhand.[4]
There are other proposals as well to connect New Giridih with Dhanbad Junction via Tundi and Govindpur,[5] and with Jhajha via Bengabad, Chakai and Sono. The first phase of the Jhajha–New Giridih rail line involves 20 km-long Jhajha–Batia section, the foundation for which was laid in 2019 and which will be constructed at a cost of Rs 496 crore.
Trains
New Giridih railway station handles trains 6 times daily. The passenger trains are run by East Central Railway zone. Following are the trains arriving and departing from New Giridih railway station.[6][7]
SL. No.
Train No.
Train Name
1
03605
Maheshmunda – Koderma Passenger
2
03606
Koderma – Maheshmunda Passenger
3
03369
Madhupur – Koderma Passenger
4
03370
Koderma – Madhupur Passenger
5
13513
Asansol – Hatia Express
6
13514
Hatia – Asansol Express
A new express train connecting New Giridih to Ranchi was announced by Koderma MP Annpurna Devi on 6 April 2023 and Indian Railways released an official notification for the same on 23 August 2023. The inaugural run of New Giridih – Ranchi Intercity Express was flagged off by Koderma MP Annpurna Devi on 12 September 2023 and regular service commenced from 13 September 2023.[8] As of now it is the only long-distance express train serving the city of Giridih connecting it with the state capital Ranchi, and also the only train running with a Vistadome coach in the state of Jharkhand.[9][10]
There has been a long-pending demand for a direct train connecting New Giridih to Howrah and Patna.[11][12]
Nearest airports
The nearest airports to New Giridih railway station are:
