The South Western Railway (SWR) has taken up restoration of Doddajala railway station as a heritage railway station.
In February, the Bengaluru Division of the SWR had signed an agreement for restoration of the station with INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage). On Monday, Ashok Kumar Verma (divisional railway manager) laid the foundation stone for the work.
The SWR has plans to restore four stations - such as Doddajala, Devenahalli, Avathihalli and Nandi Halt - based on different themes related to history and heritage. The colonial style structures were built on Bengaluru-Chikkaballapur light railway (narrow gauge - 62 km) which became operational in August 1915. The SWR will use CSR funds to develop these historical stations located on the outskirts of the city.
A release from the SWR said restoration work of stations will be taken up in two stages - restoration will be done in the first stage and sustainable maintenance of preserved and restored buildings will be developed by creating additional amenities. There is a proposal to build an art cum cultural cum convention centre at Doddajala.
The release further states that an Interpretation Centre for monuments and history, café or snack counter will be set up at Devanahalli. A silk museum and resource centre along with a park with appropriate tree planting and landscaping will be made at Avathihalli, a Rail Museum, café, restaurant, Cultural performance Centre, pop-up weekend crafts markets, Interpretation Centre, Open Air Theatre and Amphitheatre will be provided at Nandi Halt Station.
In the past, rail enthusiasts had campaigned for restoration of stations.
