NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The railways will float tenders for 16 stations under the public-private partnership (PPP) model for redevelopment purposes. Tenders are being floated over the next two months, sources said on 7th October.
The stations to be redeveloped are Anand Vihar Terminal, Tambram, Vijayawada, Dadar, Kalyan, Thane, Andheri, Coimbatore Jn, Pune, Bangalore City, Vadodara, Bhopal, Chennai Central, Delhi Hazrat Nizamuddin, and Avadi. The railways intend to float bids for these stations this year.
These railway stations will be updated to provide better accessibility and fundamental amenities for travellers. Various monetisation models are being investigated to support the private sector.
As many as 199 stations with a footfall of 50 lakh per day are planned to be redeveloped in the first phase.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at a press briefing earlier this month had said that the designs of the redeveloped stations will include a spacious roof plaza with all passenger amenities in one place along with spaces for retail, cafeterias, and recreational facilities.
While the tender for 47 stations is out, work is underway at 32 stations, Vaishnaw said, adding the target is to complete the redevelopment of the New Delhi station in three and a half years.
This marks a significant shift in the method used by the railways to renovate stations after using the “engineering, procurement and construction” (EPC) route to redevelop New Delhi, Ahmedabad, and CST Mumbai stations the railways will now go the PPP way.
This could result in an increase in the cost of platform tickets and other railways conveniences.
