2.5-L-sqm at SoBo stations to be developed commercially

In what can be a called a major redevelopment plan of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), the Indian Rail Station Development Corporation (ISRDC) will be shifting the existing suburban harbour railway lines of the terminus to the P D’Mello entrance of the railway station.

HT Image

A city centre rail mall will be constructed at CSMT along with other commercial developments at the terminus, Byculla railway station and Central Railway’s Wadi Bunder railway yard. Nearly 2.5 lakh sq meters of land will be used by the ISRDC for commercial developments of which 1.3 lakh sq meters will be utilised at CSMT and 80,000 sq meters at Byculla and 30,000 sq meters at Wadi Bunder, according to the information available.

Passengers travelling from CSMT will also have to pay a fee - a user charge as commercial developments will also be provided on the terminus.

The ₹1,642 crore redevelopment work is expected to start by next year and is targeted to be completed in the span of four years. Outstation terminus along with harbour railway will be operated from the P D’Mello entrance of the terminus. The shifting of the harbour railway to P D’Mello entrance was earlier planned by Central Railway and Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC).

Other developments that will be done on the terminus will include the restoration of the heritage structures along with the creation of a concourse area with separate arrival and departures. Commercial kiosks at platforms, pick up and drop services of cabs at the P D’Mello entrance of the terminus will also be provided.

ISRDC along with Central Railway is also in talks with Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) for the development of the railways Haji Bunder land in South Mumbai. The Central Railway owns 17.5 acres of land in Haji Bunder. Currently, the railway land at Haji Bunder is being used as scrap depot, where CR auctions scrap from its land across the city.

The terminus will be redeveloped under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. The selected bidder will undertake the redevelopment of the terminus and commercial establishment for the railway land on leasehold basis for 60 years. The ISRDC last week invited bidders for the Request for Qualification (RFQ) for the redevelopment of CSMT.

The development will be undertaken in two phases; phase one will involve the shift of railway offices from CSMT, construction of offices and commercial establishments. The second stage will involve the segregation of traffic along with development at the terminus.

To access the facilities the passengers will have to pay a user charge that will be taken by the redeveloper. The charges that the passengers will have to pay have not been decided yet. “A user fee will be charged. The price of the charges will be decided by the ministry of the railways. The redeveloped station building has to function like a city centre rail mall where in addition to a passenger’s transportation needs, his daily needs are also fulfilled, like- retail, food and beverages, entertainment and souvenir shopping. The aim is that most of his daily needs are catered to by visiting the railway station thus avoiding unnecessary travel within the city.” said Sanjeev Kumar Lohia, managing director, ISRDC.

Passenger associations have asked the railways not to charge any money from the suburban railway commuters. “A passenger travelling from Thane to CSMT to work should not be charged a fee. People coming from outside that wish to wait and utilise other commercial facilities can be charged,” said Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Parishad.

Urban planners have raised concerns of road traffic coming from the Eastern freeway after shifting of the harbour railway lines to the P’D Mello entrance. “The move to shift the railway lines to the P’D Mello entrance has been long planned. However, there is a concern about the road traffic coming from the freeway. Presently, the entire traffic has to be stopped to take the turn to enter the CSMT railway station. A complete plan has to be decided. The introduction of commercial establishments is a good factor and we should move on from the traditional railway stations. Railway stations in London and New York Central have shops and restaurants.” said urban planner Sulakshana Mahajan.

The ISRDC will also be undertaking redevelopment work of Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Kalyan, Andheri, Thakurli, Dadar, Borivli and Bandra Terminus.