RTI activist Hemanta Kumar Panda said he was shocked to see the daily revenue and passenger footfall figures: just two people on average -- for the Balangir-Bichhupali line, built at an estimated cost of Rs 115 crore which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last January.
But JP Mishra, Chief PRO for the East Coast Railway, thinks it's too early to judge earnings.
Revenue is likely to go up when the doubling of the Sambalpur-Titlagarh line is complete, he told to an eminent news agency. He added, extending the Balangir-Bichhupali line to Sonepur will benefit a large number of passengers.
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A low passenger count is normal when only one station is opened, Mishra said, adding that numbers would pick up at the end of the year.
According to the 2011 Census, Bichhupali is a small village of 15 people. But the Railways thinks it will be a strategic station when a full 289-km line Khurda-Balangir line is built.
Two passenger trains with three coaches each travel from Bichhupali to Balangir, the first at 6:30 am, and the second at 1:30 pm.