Rs 10,000 Crore To Be Spent For New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai Railway Stations: Check Finer Details

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Indian Railways’ Rs 10,000 crore proposal for redevelopment of three major stations — New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT).

CSMT building to be untouched

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said CSMT’s heritage building won’t be touched but buildings nearby will be re-developed.

The redevelopment of CSMT and its surroundings is crucial for the finances of railways along with the passengers and businesses since this represents a sizable share of its asset monetization pipeline for the fiscal year.

The redevelopment process is expected to be completed in 2.5 to 3.5 years.

What can be expected?

Development work here includes the construction of a spacious roof plaza with all passenger amenities in one place along with spaces for retail, cafeterias, and recreational facilities.

After this, citizens can expect facilities such as food court, waiting lounge, playing area for children, place to shop local products, proper illumination and lifts/escalators/travelators, among other facilities.

Delhi revamped station features

Some other features for Delhi’s revamped station include: 

• Two domes of six floors each, which will have separate arrival and departure areas, like at theIGI) Airport
• Amenities such as two nine-metre wide skywalks to connect the Multi-Modal Transport Hub to the station building, which will connect the metro, bus, taxi and auto services.
• 86 lifts and 67 escalators and a multi-level car parking will also be built.

The Ahmedabad Railway Station, it has been reported, will be redesigned in the manner of the iconic Modhera Sun Temple.

Using modern means and techniques

A master plan has been prepared for the smooth movement of traffic with adequate parking facilities.

They will be integrated with other modes of transportation such as metro and bus.

The stations will use green building techniques with solar energy, water conservation/recycling and improved tree cover.

Specially abled-friendly

According to an official release the new stations will be safe with installation of CCTV and access control.

There will be segregation of arrival/departures, clutter-free platforms, improved surfaces and fully covered platforms.

Special care will also be taken to provide Divyang-friendly facilities.

Funding

Coming to funding, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the project will be funded by the government so there will be no extra monetary burden on passengers.

He explained that Railways caters to middle class and lower middle class so any extra burden on passengers is not ideal.

Hence, it has been decided that the budget money in the Railways will be invested and that “it is a conscious decision to not redevelop these stations in PPP mode.”

Total scale of project

Overall, the government is currently working on redevelopment of 199 stations.

Tenders for 47 of those have been issued.

The work is underway on redevelopment of additional 32 stations.

The overall cost for redevelopment of 199 stations is estimated to be about ?60,000 crore.

The tenders for the re-development of the three major stations initially mentioned would be issued in the next 10 days.

Ensure flow of traffic

A timeline of 3.5 years has been set for the redevelopment of New Delhi railway station and 2.5 years for the Ahmedabad station and the CSMT Mumbai.

Operational challenges are expected because the traffic at these three stations is very high.

Hence it has to be made sure that these stations continue to service the traffic while the redevelopment is happening.

The Minister said that efforts would be made to complete the redevelopment in two years and will be doing so by using new technology for construction — modular construction.

“Once we are able to master this technology through implementation on these stations, it can be used in other projects as well in the country,” he said.