New Giridih Railway Station
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.
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. 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.
There are other proposals as well to connect New Giridih with Dhanbad Junction via Tundi and Govindpur, 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.
| 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. 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.
There has been a long-pending demand for a direct train connecting New Giridih to Howrah and Patna.
Nearest airports
The nearest airports to New Giridih railway station are:
- Deoghar Airport, Deoghar 62 kilometres (39 mi)
- Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport, Durgapur 143 kilometres (89 mi)
- Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi 197 kilometres (122 mi)
- Gaya Airport 208 kilometres (129 mi)
- Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport, Patna 281 kilometres (175 mi)
- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata 318 kilometres (198 mi)