Railway station modernisation plans may be delayed
Published on Thu, Mar 15, 2007 at 09:00 | Source : Moneycontrol.com
Updated at Thu, Mar 15, 2007 at 15:32
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Railway station modernisation plans may be delayed
Indian Railways' plans to modernise its stations may be delayed with the Planning Commission asking Railways to change the manner in which it has been pursuing the issue.
Indian Railways' plans to modernise its stations may be delayed with the Planning Commission asking Railways to change the manner in which it has been pursuing the issue.
The Railways had decided that it would define the detailed design parameters for passenger facilities with the help of renowned consultants and then invite developers to build the station as per the design. However, the Planning Commission now wants Railways to define broad parameters only and let developers design the stations, as was followed in the airport modernisation plan.
Railways' case
The Railways has pointed out that passenger access to railway stations is much easier than airports and that two work on different parameters. In this backdrop, developers are more likely to give less priority to creating passenger facilities, curbing revenue generation for the station developer and operator, it says.
Moreover, the Railways says that its method has been adopted in the modernisation plan of several stations worldwide, including London's Victoria station, the Dubai Metro, China's Shenzhen, Melbourne's Southern Cross, Berlin's Central station, Paris' St Lazare, Milan's Central Railway Station and Turin's Central Railway station in Italy.
The Railways has pointed out that passenger access to railway stations is much easier than airports and that two work on different parameters. In this backdrop, developers are more likely to give less priority to creating passenger facilities, curbing revenue generation for the station developer and operator, it says. 
