Secunderabad rail station dropped from makeover list

 Hyderabad: It is official now. The Secunderabad railway station is not going to be developed in the near future. In the latest plans of the Indian Railway to transform stations on the lines of airports with separate entry and exit gates with the state-of-the-art facilities, the Secunderabad station finds no mention.

There have been plans of redeveloping Secunderabad railway station as a world-class one for years and three attempts in the last financial year to call for bids failed as no-one evinced interest. The bidders suggested relaxations and wanted a 99-year lease instead of 40-year period. GMR Ltd, IL&FS, CBRE South India Pvt Ltd, Sthopes and Puruvankara Projects bid for the Secunderabad railway station but nothing materialised and the project was shelved. 

The Indian Railway is planning to redevelop 90 stations by giving an aesthetic makeover especially to the façade by depicting local culture and history. Only Warangal railway station finds places in Telangana State but there are seven railway stations in Andhra Pradesh that have got the nod. The stations are Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Guntakal, Kurnool, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Nellore. 

Visakhapatnam and Nellore stations would be developed by NBCC India Ltd, a navratna company under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India. In all, NBCC has been entrusted with the redevelopment of 10 railway stations across India. The remaining stations would be developed by South Central Railway. 

The station redevelopment plans were also mentioned in the last year’s budget and it may be noted that Indian Railways is in the process of redevelopment of 600 stations but the announcement of 90 stations was made a few days ago with an eye to attract passengers by giving an aesthetic look to railway stations.

According to sources, the Warangal railway station would reflect Kakatiya architecture. Railway officials say that the move comes in order to provide world-class facilities to passengers. The redevelopment plans include CCTV cameras, Wifi, renovation of station building with a façade that reflects local culture, LED lighting, escalators, retiring rooms, washrooms and other facilities.