About 32 railway stations in MMR to get swanky facelift

Out of 32, 12 stations fall under the Western Railway (WR) and 20 stations fall under the Main and Harbour lines of Central Railway.

Mumbai: At least 32 railway stations in the city and its Metropolitan Region will get a swanky facelift under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Out of 32, 12 stations fall under the Western Railway (WR) and 20 stations fall under the Main and Harbour lines of Central Railway.

The stations which are in the pipeline for redevelopment in the city are Andheri, Bandra Terminus, Belapur, Borivali, Byculla, Charni Road, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Chinchpokli, Dadar, Diva, Grant Road, Jogeshwari, Kalyan, Kanjur Marg, Kurla, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Lower Parel, Malad, Marine Lines, Matunga, Mumbai Central, Mumbra, Parel, Prabhadevi, Sandhurst Road, Shahad, Thakurli, Thane, Titwvala, Vadala Road, Vidyavihar and Vikhroli. (HT PHOTO)

The WR has started creating the initial plans and tendering processes. In the first phase, the authorities will undertake a massive ₹850 crore makeover of Mumbai Central station.

“Tenders for the redevelopment of Mumbai Central station were called on February 15 and it will be opened on April 15,” said a senior WR official on condition of anonymity. “We have started Techno-Economic Feasibility studies on four stations of Borivali, Andheri, Bandra Terminus and Dadar.”

The Techno-Economic Feasibility study roughly comprises location, infrastructure, the requirement of manpower, its costing and estimation of Operational Cost covering the cost of raw material, utilities, overheads, etc.

The stations which are in the pipeline for redevelopment in the city are Andheri, Bandra Terminus, Belapur, Borivali, Byculla, Charni Road, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Chinchpokli, Dadar, Diva, Grant Road, Jogeshwari, Kalyan, Kanjur Marg, Kurla, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Lower Parel, Malad, Marine Lines, Matunga, Mumbai Central, Mumbra, Parel, Prabhadevi, Sandhurst Road, Shahad, Thakurli, Thane, Titwvala, Vadala Road, Vidyavihar and Vikhroli.

In the 2023-24 General Budget, the Indian Railways identified 1,275 stations across the country for redevelopment. During the event, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stressed the modernization of existing infrastructure.

The Amrit Bharat Station scheme envisages the development of stations continuously with a long-term approach. It involves the preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’, better passenger information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping etc.

The scheme also envisages improvement of the building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for persons with disabilities, sustainable and environment-friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, ‘Roof Plazas’ as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centres at the station in the long term.