Non-core works at city rail station likely to be privatised

Bengaluru City (Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna) is among five railway stations in the country proposed to be brought under the transit-oriented development (TOD) project. Other stations are Pune, Anand Vihar, Chandigarh and Secunderabad.

Under the proposal, works at each railway station will be divided into core and non-core activities. All non-core activities will be privatised while the core works will be handled by the railways, said S K Lohia, the managing director and CEO of the Indian Railway Station Development Corporation. Non-core activities include housekeeping, upkeep of food joints, installation and maintenance of CCTV cameras and display boards, and sale of platform tickets. Core activities refer to works such as train operation, ticket checking, the sale of regular tickets and announcements.

Railway employees currently engaged in non-core activities will be deployed for passenger services. The privatisation of non-core activities will reduce the burden on the railway staff, he added.