Dr B Thomas (Special Correspondent)
T
he Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved Indian Railways’ proposal for redevelopment of 3 major railway stations with an approximate total investment of nearly Rs.10,000 Cr.:
a) New Delhi Railway Station.
b) Ahmedabad Railway Station; and
c) Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) Mumbai.
Railway Station is an important and central place for any city. Prime Minster,Narendra Modi has given importance to stations development in the transformation of Railways.
Today’s Cabinet decision gives a new direction to the station development.Work on redevelopment of 199 Stations is going on.Out of these, tenders have been issued for 47 stations.
Master planning and design for the remaining is underway. Work is progressing fast for 32 stations.Today, the Cabinet has sanctioned investment of Rs.10,000 crore for 3 big stations, namely New Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Mumbai and Ahmedabad Railway Stations.
In Karnataka, Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal, Bengaluru has been completed as a world class airport – like terminal already.
Further, tendering process for Redevelopment of Bengaluru Cantonment & Yesvantpur is in progress.
Also,master plan is being prepared for Redevelopment of KSR Bengaluru, SSS Hubballi, Mysuru, Mangaluru Central as well as Vasco da Gama Stations.
The standard elements of station design will be:
Every station will have a spacious roof plaza (36/72/108 m) with all passenger amenities at one place along with spaces for retail,cafeterias, recreational facilities.
Both sides of the city will be connected with the station,with the station building on both sides of Railway tracks.
Facilities like food court, waiting lounge, playing area for children,place for local products, etc will be available.
The stations located within the city will have a city center like place.
To make the stations comfortable,there will be proper illumination,way finding/signages, acoustics,lifts/escalators/travelators.
Master plan has been prepared for smooth movement of traffic,with adequate parking facilities.
There will be integration with other modes of transportation like metro,bus etc.
Green Building Techniques will be used, with solar energy, water conservation/recycling and improved tree cover.
Special care will be taken to provide Divyang friendly facilities.
These stations will be developed on the concept of intelligent building.
There will be segregation of arrival/departures, Clutter free platforms, improved surfaces, fully covered platforms.
The stations will be safe with installation of CCTV and access control.
These will be iconic station buildings.Says,Aneesh Hegde,Chief Public Relations Officer.
