Revamped Ranchi railway station eyes 2025 opening

RANCHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday remotely inaugurated the Indian Railways’ proposed re-development plan of Ranchi railway station from Deoghar. The Rs 447 cr project is expected to be completed by 2025, divisional officials here said.
The Ranchi railway station will have two three-storied buildings on its north and south sides, which will be connected by a road overbridge to ease the movement of passengers.
There will be 10 new lifts, 17 escalators, separate arrangements for the arrival and the departure of passengers, mechanised parcel handling system, and a 72 mt elevated concourse for house cafetarias, restaurants, rest rooms, and other amenities.
Ranchi divisional railway manager Pradeep Gupta told TOI, “The tender inviting bids under the engineering, procurement and consultancy model have been floated and the bidding window will open on August 1. This will be a brown-field project.”
Notably, Ranchi was selected by the Railway Board in 2017 among the 22 stations across the country which were to be converted into world class stations.
The project also involved leasing out of the unused non-movable assets, including unused land, to private players under PPP mode for setting up modern amenities. Global tenders were floated by the railways which failed to draw any bidder.
“This re-development is the first phase of the project for which funds have been approved. The first phase does not have any plans for the asset monetisation scheme,” Gupta said.