The Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) is currently undertaking works to transform many railway stations across the country into world-class airport-like hubs. IRSDC is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under the Ministry of Railways, a joint venture entity of Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) and Ircon International. At present, IRSDC is carrying out the redevelopment works at Habibganj and Gandhinagar stations. In February 2020, IRSDC had intended to invite bids for Nellore, Dehradun, Tirupati, Puducherry, Udhna, Surat, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, New Delhi and Baiyyappanahalli railway stations. The  projects will be awarded on the basis of design, build, finance, operate, transfer (DBFOT) basis  for a concession of 60 years. The time period will be 99 years in case the redevelopment involves a residential component as well.

 

Pertinent to this, RLDA, which is a government agency for  development of unused land, had recently invited prequalification bids for redevelopment of two railway stations in the country -- Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh and Dehradun in Uttarakhand. 

 

The Dehradun railway station  involves redevelopment of about 24.5 acre area of the station and around it.The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) had held a series of meetings with the Railways in 2019 and had worked on inception report, situation analysis, feasibility study and other aspects. Following the approval of the state administration, MDDA and RLDA had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in December 2019.

 

As part of the Dehradun railway station redevelopment project, the railway station will be developed into a heritage station.

 

The project will also include establishment of railway museum, hotels, kids zone and commercial complex in addition to parking facility and developing the current Mussoorie bus stand outside the railway station in a new form.

 

For this, in November 2019 a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Mussoorie and Dehradun Development and the Railway Land Development Authority for development of the project.

 

In December 2019, urban planning, master planning and feasibility study of the project was completed and detailed project report (DPR) was also prepared.

 

The project is to be undertaken in the public private partnership (PPP) mode. The redevelopment project is expected to resolve traffic congestion at the railway station and nearby areas while also facilitating beautification of the area to provide a better environment to the public. The project will entail an investment of Rs 507 crore and will be completed by December 2022.

 

Under the Guntakal division of the South Coast Railway (SCR) zone in the state of Andhra Pradesh, the Tirupati railway station is slated to become a world-class station by 2023, entailing an investment of Rs 400 crore. 

 

The SCR zone has proposed the redevelopment of the Tirupati station by involving private players as it will be based on the public private partnership model. The total number of running train lines on the station are 13 with five platforms spread across the station. Additionally, three more platforms have been proposed to be constructed.

 

For the Tirupati redevelopment programme by RLDA, the Tirupati East station or the Tiruchanoor station has been planned for improvement and expansion. The Tirupati East station is being aimed for development to decongest the main Tirupati station. Under this, budget hotels and multiplexes have also been proposed to be a part of the stations. Budget hotels will be a new facility for the Indian Railways passengers willing to stay near the station and looking for quick accommodation.

 

The north side terminal building of Tirupati station will be constructed with a multiplex, retail stores, and space will also be provided for a budget hotel block. This side of the station will have waiting area, food complex, concourse area and separate platform levels for arriving and departing passengers.

 

In June 2017, RLDA had inked a memorandum of understanding with NBCC (India) for the redevelopment of Tirupati railway station. In March 2018, an  MoU was inked between the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Urban Development (MOUD) for integrated planning of redevelopment of the project.

 

Thereafter in June 2018, NBCC (India) invited bids for development/re-development of the project and land parcels on EPC basis.

 

The detailed project report (DPR) for the multi-storey commercial complex was ready in January 2019. 

 

Besides the world-class railway stations, the Indian Railways is also upgrading many other railway stations under various modernisation schemes like Modern Station Scheme, Model Station Scheme and Adarsh Station Scheme. As per the Ministry of Railways, the development of railway stations under Model Station Scheme and Modern Station Scheme is now completed. Further, under Adarsh Station Scheme, a total of 1,253 stations have been identified for development, out of which 1,149 stations have already been developed.