NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Union Cabinet approved the Indian Railway’s ₹10,000 crore proposal for the reconstruction of three key Railway Stations — New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on 28th September.
Passengers will be able to take advantage of amenities like a food court, waiting lounge, children’s play area, place to shop for local goods, proper lighting, lifts, escalators and travelators amongst others, once after the redevelopment which is anticipated to be finished in 2.5 to 3.5 years.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “A master plan had been prepared for the smooth movement of traffic with adequate parking facilities. The stations, which will make use of green building techniques with solar energy, water conservation/recycling and improved tree cover, will be integrated with other modes of transportation such as metro and bus.”
“The stations will be safe with the 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 be taken to provide Divyang-friendly facilities,” according to an official release.
Briefing the reporters, the Minister added that the government would be funding the redevelopment project so as to not put any extra monetary burden on passengers. “Railways cater to the middle class and lower middle class so any extra burden on passengers is not good. So, it has been decided to invest the budget money in the Railways and take it up with investment from the government. So, it is a conscious decision to not redevelop these stations in PPP mode,” he said.
The Minister, however, added that efforts would be made to complete the redevelopment in two years. “We will try to do this in two years. We will be 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.