New attraction coming up at Nandi Halt station: Rail Museum

BENGALURU:  Spread across 7 acres inside the premises of the 107-year-old Nandi Halt railway station in Yaluvahalli, construction of the first Rail Museum-cum-Rail Park for the Bengaluru Railway Division has begun. It is expected to be a major tourist attraction here, set to be intertwined with tradition and modernity, along with Nandi Hills, around 20 kms from here, and the recently unveiled Adi Yogi Shiva statue.

Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Administration, Bengaluru Railway Division, Kusuma Hariprasad told TNIE, “The first phase is being readied at a cost of Rs 2.38 crore. Work has already begun and is expected to open to the public by the year-end. The General Manager of South Western Railway Zone has agreed to release an Out of Turn (OT) payment of the same. While Mysuru and Hubballi have their own rail museums, it will be the first such one for Bengaluru.”

City-based Bindu Agency has bagged the contract for the museum. A mini restaurant created from old coaches, a Toy train like the one at Cubbon Park, a 3D art gallery, and QR-enabled picture postcards will be among the key attractions here. They are set to be juxtaposed with ancient benches, rails, coaches and colonial-era furniture collected from different stations.

A unique aspect of the venture is that the Division will be reviving the dry Dakshina Pinnakini river, which originate at Nandi Hills and flows via Chikkaballapur and Hoskote, the ADRM said. “We originally wanted to have it inside KSR railway station. But the limited land availability and huge cost involved made us choose the Nandi Halt station campus which has 15 acres of land, of which, only half the space is required for the museum,” she said.

Materials viewed as scrap hold great historical significance for the Railways, Hariprasad added.  “Signalling systems and other old material have been collected along with an ancient dressing table and dining table from Channapatnra, Maddur and Hejjala among other stations.