New look for railway stations in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: A master plan is being prepared for the revival of Krantiveera Sangoli Rayanna railway station in the city. Besides, the tender process for revamp of Cantonment and Yeshwantpur railway stations is in progress.

The Sir M Visvesvaraya Railway Terminal near Baiyyappanahalli has already started operations, KSR Bengaluru, Bengaluru Cantonment and Yeshwantpur railway station are going to be built on a similar or different model.

Railway stations are an important link that connects cities and the central government is making a lot of efforts for the development of railway stations in major cities across the country. Railway stations in other cities like Bengaluru are also being developed, and in the Union Cabinet meeting held on September 29, Rs 10,000 crore has been approved for the development of Shivaji Maharaj Terminal in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

Around 199 stations are being revived across the country. Out of these 47 centers have been tendered. While the master plan and design for the rest are being worked out, work on 32 stations is in progress.

All preparations are being made to develop the city's Cantonment Railway Station with a redesign. The Ministry of Railways shared on Twitter the proposed design of the station to be renovated and future images of the renovated space. It is explained that Kempegowda will become like an international airport after the completion of the railway station. Upgradation of Cantonment Railway Station will be completed by December 2023. Tenders have recently been invited for upgradation of Cantonment Railway Station at a cost of Rs 442 crore.

The almost 130-year-old Yeshwantpur railway station is the second busiest railway terminal in the capital. It is proposed to be modernized at an estimated cost of Rs 375 crore. South Western Railway officials said that a tender will be called for this soon. The station will include state-of-the-art facilities with air-conditioning system. Officials said that a state-of-the-art lounge will be constructed for the passengers.

What will the stations be like?

Each station will have a spacious rooftop plaza. It will have all the passenger amenities at one place along with retail, cafeterias, entertainment facilities. Facilities like food court, waiting lounge, play area for children, space for local products etc. will be available. The stations located within the city have a location similar to the city center. To make the stations comfortable, there will be proper lighting, signage boards, signals, lifts or escalators for passengers. The station will be connected from both sides of the city. Construction of buildings on both sides of railway tracks. Design in such a way that parking facility, metro, bus etc. transport connectivity is convenient. Emphasis would be on solar energy, green building software, water conservation. Special care to provide disabled friendly facility, construction of separate lanes for passenger arrivals and departures and installation of complete surfacing of passenger walkways would be taken up

The security of stations will be done by installation of CCTV and access control.