Bhopal Habibgunj to be first world class rail station in India

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Bhopal: Habibgunj here in the Madhya Pradesh capital will officially be the country's first world-class railway station. An agreement was signed on Thursday afternoon between Indian Railway Station Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC) and Bansal Construction Works at New Delhi in the presence of Union minister for railways Suresh Prabhu. Speaking to reporters Suresh Prabhu claimed Habibgunj railway station will be better than an airport. "People will come to see the railway station," he added.

It will take three years to complete the project with amenities like 11 escalators, six elevators and three travelators. There will be 14,037 square metre surface parking for 284 four wheelers, 839 two-wheelers and five buses. There will also be two subways and a parcel corridor among other conveniences.

According to a railways release, PM Narendra Modi has asked for the need to redevelop and modernise railway station infrastructure throughout the country. To start on this, the ministry of railways had selected eight railway stations including Habibgunj and assigned IRSDC for reconstruction and development. The seven other railways stations are Chandigarh, Shivaji Nagar (Pune), Bijwasan (New Delhi), Anand Vihar (New Delhi), Surat (Gujarat), Gandhi Nagar (Gujarat) and SAS Nagar (Mohali).

Railway minister Prabhu said, "Railways needs more revenue and for that railway stations will have to be developed. Passengers will have to be given better amenities and services including food plazas, medical facilities and improved infrastructure."

"Habibgunj railway station is the first to be redeveloped through Public Private Partnership (PPP) route under the state redevelopment program. Estimated cost of station redevelopment is Rs 100 crore, whereas estimated cost of commercial development is approximately Rs 350 crore," a railways release said. Law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co will be legal consultants, Ernst&Young LLP are financial consultants and transaction advisors, GMP International GmbH (Germany) and Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats are technical and architectural advisors for the project.