Indian Railways to redevelop 22 stations to world-standards! Bandra Terminus, Kolkata, Kanpur on the list
Indian Railways goes big on railway stations redevelopment! The Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) and MECON Limited have recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on railway station redevelopment. Under this project, a total of eight railway stations across the country will be redeveloped including Bandra Terminus, Andheri, Chennai Egmore and Ranchi. A couple of days ago, a similar MoA was signed with two other Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) i.e., Engineering Projects India Limited (EPIL) and Bridge and Roof for the redevelopment as many as 14 railway stations including Kolkata Terminal, Hyderabad, Kalyan Junction, Ludhiana, Kanpur Central, and Udaipur City.
According to a press release issued by the IRSDC, these CPSEs will come up with Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of these 22 railway stations for their development/redevelopment and also they will act as Project Management Consultant to IRSDC for implementation of the above-mentioned station redevelopment program. The move is being considered to be a great milestone in the government’s prestigious program of station redevelopment, it stated.
Under this program, six CPSEs have been selected by IRSDC for the redevelopment of as many as 41 railway stations across India. The remaining CPSEs who shall also be signing a similar agreement with IRSDC shortly are RITES, IRCON and NPCC. The move is expected to further accelerate the station redevelopment initiatives that are being undertaken by the IRSDC.
The IRSDC, which is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under the Ministry of Railways is also transforming several other railway stations into swanky airport-like hubs. In the coming years, the stations – Anand Vihar, Bijwasan, Chandigarh, Shivaji Nagar, Surat, Biayyappanahalli, Nagpur, Gwalior, Amritsar, Gandhinagar (Jaipur), Sabarmati, Kanpur, Thakurli, Habibganj and Gandhi Nagar (Gujarat) will undergo a massive renovation. The stations will be provided with multiple modern facilities and amenities for the convenience of passengers. The redevelopment work in Habibganj and Gandhi Nagar stations as India’s first airport-like world-class hubs is already in progress.