Ram temple-themed Ayodhya railway station to open in January

LUCKNOW: Themed on the upcoming grand Ram temple, the Ayodhya railway passenger terminal, is slated to open doors to the visitors in January next year.
The external façade of the passenger terminal building has been decked up with the same sandstone that is being used for the construction of the Ram temple complex, making it the one-of-a-kind station.

The first phase of the project worth Rs 241 crore is nearing completion with terminal building ready to host the daily commuters and travellers who come from other parts of the state and country.

In another development that will improve accessibility to the temple town ahead of the inauguration of the Ram temple, both up and down railway tracks to connect the Ayodhya railway station to Barabanki are expected to be available. A loop line of the main Lucknow– Varanasi rail section, Ayodhya falls on the Lucknow–Gonda route and only a single track had been laid down in the past between Barabanki to Ayodhya to handle the daily traffic.

The railway expects that the daily passenger count who commute via Ayodhya railway station will go up by three to four times in a year. At present, the old station handles a daily passenger volume of 5,000. Situated about 1,500 metres away from the Ram temple complex, the station is being developed in two phases and is going to be the first in the country to have an elevated concourse.
The next phase will cost an additional Rs 480 crore to the railways and a detailed project report has been finalised to list down the key elements of the overall project. A senior officer of Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES), who is supervising the execution of the first phase, said that the deadline for the completion of the next phase is yet to be fixed. “Approvals and budget allocation for the second phase is yet to be done by the railway board,” he added.
In the first phase RITES had to build a terminal building, provide modern passenger facilities and establish an elevated concourse to ease movement of the passengers who use the existing three platforms of the station. “Building elevated concourse is still left while the rest ofthe elements that were part of phase 1 are almost ready. We are looking for a contractor who can undertake the next round of civil work. The old railway station building will have to be brought down and we do not want to cause inconvenience to the public till everything gets in order and suitable agency is finalised,” the officer added.
In the next phase, depending upon the traffic growth, the railway is planning to add three more platforms. Interestingly, out of the Rs 241 crore that have earmarked for the first phase, railways spent about Rs 7. 50 crore over procuring the sandstones from Paharpur village in Bharatpur, the same mine which became the source for supplying the pink stone for the Ram temple complex in Ayodhya.