E-Paper
New avatar of Chandigarh railway station to be unveiled in 8 months
Chandigarh railway station is among the 508 railway stations across India being redeveloped as part of the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone on Sunday
The city’s railway station is set to be launched with its new and re-developed avatar in six to eight months as per railway officials.
It is among the 508 railway stations across India being redeveloped as part of the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone on Sunday. The Mohali railway station has also been selected under the scheme.
Punjab governor and UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Chandigarh mayor Anup Gupta and his Panchkula counterpart Kulbhushan Goyal were present at the function organised by the Ambala division of Northern Railways at the Chandigarh railway station.
Confirming this, divisional rail manager (DRM) Mandeep Singh Bhatia said, “After Sunday’s function, the work is in full swing. The upgrade work at 16 stations of the division to the tune of ₹900 crore is going smoothly and should be finished by the deadline.”
Speaking at Sunday’s function, Haryana speaker Gian Chand Gupta reiterated his demand that the Chandigarh railway station be renamed Chandigarh-Panchkula railway station. He mentioned how the PM himself had visited this railway station numerous times when he used to travel from Panchkula to New Delhi.
Purohit thanked the PM for sanctioning ₹4,762 crore for 22 railway stations in Punjab and the Chandigarh station as well, adding that the scheme will revolutionise the railway infrastructure of the country.
Khattar also expressed gratitude for including 15 railway stations of Haryana under the scheme, stating that 34 more stations of the state will be included in the second phase of the scheme.
During the programme, the main entrance part of the railway station was restricted due to VIP movement protocols. Railway officials claimed that alternative arrangements were made to avoid inconvenience to passengers.
₹511-crore allotted for revamp
For the redevelopment of Chandigarh railway station, earlier around ₹462 crore was allotted when the tender was awarded by the Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) to Ahluwalia Contracts Private Limited. The cost has now been revised to ₹511 crore, which Bhatia clarified was due to GST.
The work is being executed by RLDA under the supervision of the Ambala division officials.
As per the tender, the redeveloped Chandigarh station will have separate arrival and departure areas to provide passengers with a comfortable and convenient travel experience.
A 72-metre wide roof plaza is being provided over the platforms with a food plaza and retail shops where passengers can wait for their trains in comfortable ambience.
Two state-of-the-art foot over bridges (FOBs) will also be built to ensure smooth passenger movement. The redeveloped railway station will be integrated with other modes of transportation wherever possible and will be upgraded in a unifying grid system to ensure structural modularity.
The upgraded station will include state-of-the-art lobbies, a food court, a paid lounge, an enquiry counter, and some office and retail spaces.
Similarly, ₹23.2 crore will be spent on redevelopment of the Mohali railway station.
