India to get 2 world-class rly stations by 2019

Country’s first world-class stations with several amenities under one roof will be ready by the beginning of next year. While Habibganj Railway Station will come up in a new avatar by December 2018, a feat likely to be achieved six months in advance than its scheduled June 2019 completion, the Gandhinagar Railway Station with a five star hotel atop the railway tracks will be thrown open for public in January 2019.

The national transporter arm - Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC)- mandated to redevelop about 800 railway stations across the country- is putting all efforts to provide at least three Rs airport-like’ railway stations during the next one and a half years.  IRSDC is a Joint Venture between IRCON (a government of India undertaking) and RLDA a statutory authority under the Ministry of Railways responsible for these projects.

“While the redevelopment work of Habibganj railway station in Madhya Pradesh will be complete by December 31, 2018, the Gandhinagar Railway station in Gujarat will be revamped by January 2019. The idea behind station redevelopment projects is to get passengers to enjoy a good comfortable ambience at the concourse,” said S K Lohia, Managing Director and CEO of IRSDC.

The entire responsibility of maintenance and revenue generation of these stations lies with IRSDC. “We have to make sure that these railway stations are revenue surplus and to the extent that this revenue can be used to invest back in the maintenance and development of the station,” Lohia said talking to The Pioneer.

Habibganj railway station will become the first in the country to be redeveloped under the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model. An agreement for the same has been signed between IRSDC and the Bansal Group. The entire Habibganj Station redevelopment project is likely to be a Rs 450 crore project, of which Rs 100 crore would be spent on station redevelopment and Rs 350 crore on commercial development.

The Habibganj railway station will offer “airport-like” end-to-end comfort to passengers. “There will be additional waiting benches, clean toilets, retail areas and we are exploring other ideas such as video-game zones, virtual museums etc,” Lohia said.

The Habibganj railway station will be a “green building” with LED lighting and waste water will be treated for reuse. There will also be bike-sharing terminals and charging stations for electric mobility vehicles. The station will have a glass dome-like structure and have facilities such as food plazas and cafeterias and a plush waiting lounge.

Lohia said the Gandhinagar Capital railway station redevelopment project is a unique one. The foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2017 and the work will be complete in record two years time.

“Round the clock work is under progress and 42 percent of the civil work has been done. By January 2019, the entire project will be complete, because the Vibrant Gujarat Summit has to be held,” Lohia said. The Rs 250 crore redevelopment project is a SPV between IRSDC, Gujarat government.

The revamped station will be unique from a design perspective as it will have a five-star hotel with 300-rooms with three towers over railway tracks making it the first of its kind in the world.

“The Gandhinagar Capital railway station will have a dedicated transit hall and over 600 seats for passenger convenience. The transit area will have shops, koisks, book stalls, food stalls and modular clean toilets,” Lohia added.

Indian Railways has identified as many as 794 railway stations for redevelopment and revamp and plans are in works to finalise tenders for some of them. Even as Habibganj and Gandhinagar stations redevelopment progresses, the designs for stations like Surat, Gwalior to name a few are ready.

Lohia said that the stations redeveloped will function on the basis of Integrated Station Management where Operation and Management will be outsourced. “The train operations will be certainly with Indian Railways but station management will rest on IRSDA,” Lohia mentioned.