Indian Railways To Roll Out Its Ambitious Station Redevelopment Plan Tomorrow

Indian Railways's ambitious station redevelopment programme is all set to be launched tomorrow.

As part of the first phase of the project, 23 stations will be bid out tomorrow (8 February) through an online portal following the modified “Swiss challenge method”. The bidding process under this method will involve submitting proposals online and permitting rival bidders to beat that proposal with a more attractive one.

In the second phase, 100 stations will be bid out for redevelopment in June/July of this year (2017). And in the third and final phase, 250 stations will be bid out in December.

The following 23 stations will be bid out on 8 February.

1. Lokmanya Tilak (Mumbai, Maharashtra)

2. Pune (Maharashtra)

3. Thane (Maharashtra)

4. Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)

5. Howrah (West Bengal)

6. Kanpur Central (Uttar Pradesh)

7. Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh)

8. Kamakhya (Guwahati, Assam)

9. Faridabad (Haryana)

10. Jammu Tawi (J&K)

11. Udaipur City (Rajasthan)

12. Secundrabad (Hyderabad)

13. Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh)

14. Ranchi (Jharkhand)

15. Chennai Central (Tamil Nadu)

16. Kozhikode (Kerala)

17. Yesvantpur (Bangalore, Karnataka)

18. Bangalore Cantt (Karnataka)

19. Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)

20. Mumbai Central (Main)

21. Bandra Terminus (Mumbai, Maharashtra)

22. Borivali (Mumbai, Maharashtra)

23. Indore (Madhya Pradesh)

The Railways has placed the 400 plus stations earmarked for redevelopment across the country under A and A-1 categories based on a revenue generation of Rs 50 to 60 crore per annum and Rs 8 crore per annum, respectively.

The redevelopment plans for the stations include building an iconic structure with modern state-of-the-art facilities. The complexes will have a parking lot aimed at easing congestion and will provide non-conflicting entry and exit points to the station premises. Segregation of arrival and departure of passengers is also a part of the revamp plan. The government also wants developers to build an adequate concourse without overcrowding, which would mean constructing it above the platforms and rail lines. Of course, the concourse will have enough space for essential facilities such as catering, small retail, wash rooms, cloak rooms, drinking water facilities, ATM, pharmacy, internet, etc.

The Habibganj Railway Station in Bhopal is the first station in India that is being redeveloped through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) route under the station redevelopment programme of the Indian Railways. Redevelopment of Surat, Anand Vihar, Bijwasan, Chandigarh, Shivajinagar are in different stages of planning and execution. Stations such as Gwalior, Baiyappanahalli, Gandhinagar (Jaipur station), Amritsar and Nagpur have also been entrusted to Indian Railway station Development Corporation (IRSDC).

Image: How Surat station is planned to appear post redevelopment