The railway stations of Mumbai will see a complete 360-degree makeover that would highlight its heritage value. The latest in the list is Thane which was visited by Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, last week. This comes at a time when the Indian Railways have decided to levy a ‘station development fee’ that rail travellers will have to pay in case they board and/or alight at these selected railway stations across India proposed to be redeveloped.
The makeover plan for Thane got an impetus after Union Railway Minister Vaishnaw’s visit on Friday, February 18. The redevelopment plan will be implemented by giving the station a heritage makeover. As part of the plan, the up-gradation of the platforms along with modification of the railway station and ramping up of passenger amenities will be carried out.
The union budget for Financial Year 2022-23 has an initial allocation of Rs 1,000 for the project. Senior Central Railway officials said that a detailed project report on the makeover of the station will be sent to the Railway Ministry for approval. Fund allocations will be made after the project report is prepared and submitted. The redevelopment plan will involve the construction of commercial spaces including restaurants and cafes along with parking spaces for passengers inside the terminus.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after flagging off new AC local train services on Friday; stated that Thane has relevance in the history of Indian Railways and they will be undertaking the redevelopment of the railway station that would uplift its heritage value and beauty. Other stations like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Byculla, Kalyan, Dadar and Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Terminus.
The heritage building of Byculla railway station consists of historical architecture that is present at the entrance of the railway station and was restored. The architecture including stained glass windows, walls, grills present in the interior and exterior of the station premises were also restored. In Mumbai, the CSMT is one of the first stations that are under the priority of the rail authorities for redevelopment at a cost of over Rs 1300 crore. The Indian Railways has proposed to lease CSMT for 27 years.
They have also adopted the Hybrid Annuity Model for funding redevelopment of CSMT station which is likely to replace the PPP model. As per the new Hybrid Annuity Model, the private contractor will fund 60 percent of the project cost while Indian Railways will pay 40 percent of the cost.
The Outstation passengers will have to pay anywhere between Rs 10 to Rs 50 called ‘Station Development Fee’ depending on the class of coach one is travelling in. This will be in addition to the ticket fare. The Station Development Fee will be used to fund these revamp of other stations across the country. This would ideally mean that it is the public that will also pay for the revamp and not the government alone.
In total more than 125 railway stations will undergo a revamp and redevelopment at a cost of over Rs 50000 crore. Some of the railway stations that will undergo revamp in the coming years are at CSMT, Andheri, Kalyan, Dadar, Thakurli, Kurla LTT, Borivali etc. Other cities where redevelopment is planned at rail stations include Ghaziabad, Gaya, Gandhinagar, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Jaipur, Udaipur, Kota, Madurai, Ernakulam, Lucknow and Tirupati.
