The Station-Jugsalai Road, Jamshedpur’s gateway from Tatanagar railway station, will be awash with lights from this week.

Jugsalai Municipality has almost completed installing white LEDs on the 1km stretch of the road from the railway station to the railway underpass.

The LEDs were put on trial on Sunday evening, and “it was a success”, said Jugsalai Municipality official Gyaneshwar Prasad.

Trials will continue for a couple of days before the lights are switched on daily.

A civic body source told The Telegraph that after getting a nod from the railways recently, Jugsalai Municipality provided as many as 56 LED lights on the vital stretch of the road that earlier had almost no lights save a high-mast light. A bulk of the stretch leading from Tatanagar station to the steel city stayed dark after sundown.

“Now, dark days are over,” smiled civic official Prasad. “We have not only installed LEDs, the lamp posts are also illuminated with strings of lights. The area looks bright and festive. I am sure people will love the difference.”

He added that for visitors to the steel city by train, the road outside the station created the first impression. “A dark road gives the impression of an underdeveloped and unsafe city, and Jamshedpur is one of the most planned cities in India. The new lights will create a positive impression among visitors as well as regular commuters,” he said. “Also, women will feel safer with all the lights.”

Regular commuters on the stretch have already appreciated the move.

“The Station-Jugsalai Road assumes significance for Jamshedpur as it connects the steel city with Tatanagar station. Visitors to the steel city coming here by train will really be impressed by the lights,” said Sumanta Banerjee, a self-employed resident of Sonari.

Another commuter, Sanjay Singh, echoed Banerjee.

“I could not believe the difference that the lights have made to the stretch. It felt like I have come to a foreign city,” smiled Singh, an employee of a private insurance company and a resident of Jugsalai. “The lights will immensely benefit the aged and women.”

The two-way Station-Jugsalai Road sees a daily traffic of over 60,000 vehicles, including cars, two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws. Heavy vehicles also ply on the stretch at night.