New Delhi: By May next year, 71 railway stations under the Northern Railway will be redeveloped with a swanky look and offer facilities such as a 12-metre roof plaza, modern washrooms and big porch at entrances, general manager of the division, Shobhan Chaudhuri said Friday.
The work will cost Rs 4,195.3 crore and the Indian Railways is hopeful of meeting the deadline, he added.
The announcement was part of the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, under which redevelopment work will be undertaken at 508 stations at a cost of Rs 24,470 crore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the project virtually Sunday.
The revamp of stations is not limited to a mere facelift, but will include facilities for the differently-abled, widening of roads to regulate traffic, preventing congestion at entry and exit points, uniform and legible signages for improved passenger guidance, swanky washrooms and landscaping, according to a concept note provided by the Northern Railway.
Further, a 12-metre roof plaza, akin to a footover bridge, will house eateries and comprise seating space for passengers as well as connect two parts of a station.
Another key change will be the upgradation of all platforms — this would include extending platform shelters, building new ones and increasing the height of low-level platforms, while the platforms will also be connected to the 12-metre footover bridge which will have a ramp, staircase and escalators.
A generous amount of space will be dedicated to booking counters and queuing areas in order to curb crowding. The washrooms will also see a modern and sustainable design, the concept note stated.
The redevelopment works are largely aimed at developing the selected stations as “city centres” — centring a city around a railway station — which will integrate multiple sides of a city.
Chaudhuri told reporters that the redevelopment works are expected to last a period of 40 years, while taking into account factors such as footfall and traffic.
Of the 71 stations selected under the Northern Railway, 14 fall under the Delhi division and are being redeveloped at an estimated cost of Rs 1,300 crore. However, the New Delhi Railway Station and the Anand Vihar Railway Station — which see heavy footfall — have not been included under the scheme.
“These 71 stations are those that have an executing agency in place. Now only work has to begin on these,” said Chaudhuri.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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