Redevelopment of railway stations across India is a priority agenda of Ministry of Railways, Government of India. This agenda is being driven with full force by the Government with the participation of private players as a part of PPP projects.

As part of this agenda, work on redevelopment of 123 stations is in progress. Out of this, IRSDC is working on 63 stations and RLDA is working on 60 stations. As per current estimates, total investment needed for redevelopment of 123 stations along with real estate development is about Rs 50,000 crore.

Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, reviewed the progress of Habibganj and Gandhinagar Railway station. Hon’ble Minister appreciated the work being done for redevelopment of these Railway Stations with facilities at par with Airports and as Multi Modal Hubs and commercial development harmonious with the city development.

During review, Hon’ble Minister gave his valuable suggestions regarding future projects of station development/redevelopment. He advised that lessons learnt during the redevelopment of these station redevelopment projects on Indian railways should be taken in view during design / construction of future projects. He also suggested that while the station looks beautiful, we should strive for use of better materials, as we proceed further.

Habibganj Railway Station is the railway station on Indian Railways being redeveloped under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The station is being redeveloped by IRSDC. The redeveloped station will have features like ‘segregation of passengers based on arrivals and departures’ leading to congestion free movement at Concourse and Platforms. The station will have ample sitting arrangement at Platforms, Concourse, Lounges and Dormitories and retiring Rooms, adequate Parking along with Divyang friendly amenities like Lifts, Escalators, Travelators. The station will have latest Safety, Security and Information features(Fire Safety, CCTVs, PA systems, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition(SCADA), Access control, Scanning Machines, modern Signage and information displays). The station is being developed as per LEED ‘Green Building’ norms with use of Solar energy, Energy-Efficient Equipment, wastewater treatment for reuse.

Gandhinagar Railway Station is being developed by Gandhinagar Railway and Urban Development(GARUD), an SPV formed with equity contribution of Government of Gujarat and IRSDC in the ratio of 74:26 respectively. The project is first of its kind in India with an exclusive 5-star Hotel Building over LIve Railway Tracks. The station has column free platform roof spanning 105 meters, which is largest in Indian Railways. The station has been redeveloped with all modern amenities for better passenger experience.

At present, works for redevelopment of stations have been initiated in Nagpur, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus & Ajni stations in Maharashtra; Habibganj & Gwalior Stations in Madhya Pradesh; Gandhinagar & Sabarmati station in Gujarat; Ayodhya & Gomti Nagar stations in Uttar Pradesh; Safdarjung & New Delhi stations in Delhi; Tirupati & Nellore stations in Andhra Pradesh; Dehradun in Uttarakhand; Amritsar in Punjab; Ernakulam in Kerala and Puducherry in Union Territory of Puducherry.

***

DJN/MKV