Railways To Bid Out 16 Stations Via PPP Route For Redevelopment Purposes

The railways will bid out 16 stations, including the Anand Vihar Terminal, under the public-private partnership (PPP) model for redevelopment purposes with a tender being floated over the next two months, sources said on Friday.

The other stations to be redeveloped are Tambram, Vijayawada, Dadar, Kalyan, Thane, Andheri, Coimbatore Jn, Pune, Bangalore City, Vadodara, Bhopal, Chennai Central, Delhi Hazrat Nizamuddin, and Avadi.

The railways plan to bid out these stations within the current year itself.

These railway stations will be upgraded to ensure improved basic facilities and accessibility for passengers. Various monetization models are being examined to encourage the private sector.

As many as 199 stations with a footfall of 50 lakh per day are planned to be redeveloped in the first phase.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav at a press briefing earlier this month had said that the designs of the redeveloped stations will include a spacious roof plaza with all passenger amenities in one place along with spaces for retail, cafeterias, and recreational facilities.

While the tender for 47 stations is out, work is underway at 32 stations, Vaishnav said, adding the target is to complete the redevelopment of the New Delhi station in three and a half years.

This is a major change in the mode of redeveloping stations -- after going for the 'engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) route to redevelop New Delhi, Ahmedabad, and CST Mumbai stations, the railways will now go the PPP way.

This may lead to rising in the prices of platform tickets and other conveniences provided by the railways.

(Inputs from PTI)