East Central Railways: 12 Stations To Be Revamped To World Class

Under the ambitious railway station redevelopment programme of Indian Railways, a total of 12 stations falling under the jurisdiction of East Central Railways (ECR) have been selected for upgradation to World Class Stations.

East Central Railway with its Headquarters at Hajipur in Bihar has been a railway zone since 1 October 2002 and currently consists of the divisions viz. Dhanbad, Danapur, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya of Eastern Railway and Sonpur and Samastipur of North Eastern Railway.

The stations selected for redevelopment include Rajendra Nagar Terminal and Buxar from Danapur division; Muzaffarpur, Begusarai and Barauni in Sonpur division; Darbhanga, Sitamarhi and Bapudham Motihari in Samastipur division; Gaya from DDU division and Dhanbad divisions’ Dhanbad and Singrauli stations.

The facilities proposed in a redeveloped station include congestion free non-conflicting entry/exit to the station premises, segregation of arrival/departure of passengers, adequate concourse without overcrowding, integration of both sides of the city wherever feasible, integration with other modes of transport systems example bus, metro etc., user friendly international signage, well illuminated circulating area and sufficient provision for drop off, pick up and parking etc.

Tenders have been floated for the redevelopment of Gaya station which is an important station from religious and tourism viewpoint. To be upgraded at an estimated cost of 300 crore, the redevelopment exercise of Gaya station is targeted for completion by the end of 2024.

The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has invited RFP (Request for Proposal) for the upgradation of Muzaffarpur Railway Station in Bihar at the estimated cost of about Rs 400 crore in the month of May 2021. The upgradation work is planned to be completed in a span of three years through EPC contract model.

According to the information available on the RLDA website, the work of development for other stations viz; Bapudham Motihari, Barauni, Begusarai, Buxar, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Rajendra Nagar, Sitamarhi, Dhanbad and Singrauli is under Planning and design stage.

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