Soon, Indian Railways passengers would travel like never before. With the launch of many modern trains over the recent months, Indian Railways is concurrently taking steps to upgrade railway stations across the country. Addition to this, many stations have been identified to be transformed into world-class travel hubs. Interestingly, the redevelopment work of two such stations – Habibganj and Gandhinagar stations – is expected to be over by March 2020.
As said by an official of Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC), the redeveloped Habibganj station is likely to be ready by December 2019 or January 2020, while the Gandhinagar station would be ready by March 2020.
The Habibganj railway station in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh would be the country’s first such station to be made on the lines of Germany’s Heidelberg railway station. The redevelopment of the station will cost around Rs 100 crore, while an amount of around Rs 350 crore will be spent on commercial development in and around the station.
Once the redevelopment work is complete, the station will boast a glass dome-like structure at the entrance, clean toilets, plush waiting lounge, gaming and museum zones, “green building” with LED lighting, decongested platforms and many other features.
The second one, the Gandhinagar railway station in Gujarat is being transformed into a swanky travel hub at a cost of Rs 250 crore. It will be India’s first such railway station equipped with amenities at par with modern airports. The redeveloped station will boast many features including a dedicated transit with food stalls, kiosks, toilets, shops and book stalls, 600 seats for passenger convenience, clean toilets, etc.
Moreover, the Gandhinagar station redevelopment project also envisages setting up of a five-star hotel above the station premises. Though, the completion date of the hotel work has not yet been declareD.
