Waiting for trains at Tatanagar station will soon be less of an ordeal.

The executive lounge at platform 1 of the A1-category railway station, which is undergoing a complete makeover with airport-like facilities, will reopen by the end of this month.

The lounge with mezzanine floor will have cushioned sofas, recliners, LED television, Wi-Fi, newspaper stand, toilets and urinals for men and women, food and beverages and train information display.

Senior divisional commercial manager of Chakradharpur railway division Manish Pathak said the executive lounge would be run by a Jamshedpur-based private firm MB Service.

“We have given them a nine-year contract through an open tender for running the facility . It is a promising project aimed at generating revenues and providing comfort to passengers,” he said.

It will be a paid lounge and passengers will have to pay a fee of Rs 50 per hour for enjoying the facility.

According to Pathak, the renovated executive lounge will be able to accommodate 25 passengers at a time.

In the absence of contract renewal, the lounge remained closed for about two years from the end of 2017.

Sources in Chakradharpur division’s commercial section said the private firm was required to pay an annual licence fee of Rs 6.62 lakh for nine years for running the facility.

Tatanagar station director H.K. Balmuchu said any railway passenger can use the executive lounge.

“Since it is a paid lounge, passengers will be charged on an hourly basis. Proper security will also be provided to the passengers. No station under Chakradharpur railway division has an executive lounge,” he said.

Five retiring rooms renovated by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) on the first floor of the main station building would also become operational by the end of this month.

Chhotanagpur Passenger Association welcomed the relaunch of the executive lounge facility.

“We welcome the railway’s move. It will immensely benefit the passengers. Railways will also benefit in terms of revenues,” said Arun Tiwari, a senior functionary of the association.

Tatanagar, which falls on Howrah-Mumbai main line, is the second most busy station under South Eastern Railway after Howrah.

According to official records, Tatanagar witnesses a daily footfall of 50,000 passengers and the movement of over 45 pairs of trains, including the high-profile Rajdhani and Duronto.