Railway to remove encroachments

Northern railway has decided to clear all encroachments around Old Delhi railway station because unauthorised settlers have been coming in the way of the second entrance and the station building being made there.

Northern railway has decided to clear all encroachments around Old Delhi railway station because unauthorised settlers have been coming in the way of the second entrance and the station building being made there.

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To pave the second entry along Zorawar Singh Marg in old Delhi, Northern Railway will have to demolish its 72 old staff quarters. And along with that, all the encroachments will also have to go.

“The creation of the second entry is very important as it will end congestion at the entrance from SP Mukherjee Road. Passenger amenities will also increase,” said a senior railway official.

“The staff quarters have been plagued with heavy encroachment by illegal settlers. In many areas super-structures have been built years ago to facilitate encroachment,” he said.

The removal of these structures is also necessary because they are hindering the work of construction of the new station building.

Along with the second entry, behind the current station building, the whole vehicle circulating area of the new entry is being reorganised. The new building will have all the facilities befitting a major railway terminus like Old Delhi.

For years, Northern Railway has been sitting on the proposal of opening up the second entry behind the station building near the GPO circle off Zoravar Singh Marg.

Now, the building plan is ready, the space has been spruced up and the related works speeded up. The work worth R6 crore has been prepared.

Already the surface of 16 platforms at the station has been relaid, while the apron beneath the tracks has been concretised for better cleanliness.

“Usually the SP Mukherjee road is a traffic nightmare and a source of major inconvenience. Passengers often get stuck in traffic here on their way to the station,” he said.

The circulating area at the second entry is being developed as the new face of the old station, like the Ajmeri Gate side at New Delhi railway station.