New Delhi railway station to spot a new look by 2010

The New Delhi railway station is getting a lot cooler for the Commonwealth Games. It will also be fully air conditioned before 2010, reports CNBC-TV18.

After the Delhi and Mumbai airports, the government is now all set to modernise the New Delhi railway station ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The government hopes the revamped station will be a world class facility spread over an area of 250 acres.

This public-private partnership will be built on the design-build-finance-operate model..

The Railway Ministry is in the process of setting up an inter-ministerial group, which will involve the Railways, Urban Development and Finance ministries, the Delhi government and the Planning Commission. The project is expected to see investments to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore and will be built on the lines of the New York Central station.

The Railway Ministry has recently invited global bids to appoint an architect and technical consultants, who will prepare feasibility reports and a concept plan for modernisation. The tender for consultants has already been floated and the last date to submit bids is the May 22. By July, the consultant would be appointed. The report is expected to be ready in the next four months. Bids from private players for modernisation will be invited in the first quarter of 2008.

The New Delhi station currently handles a daily average of 3,50,000 passengers with around 250 trains arriving and departing from its 12 platforms. Four new platforms are expected to be ready by the end of the year. And that is not all, Mumbai is on the Railway Ministry's radar. It also has plans to convert 19 major railway stations across the country into world-class stations.