Tirupati station upgradation works gather momentum

Tirupati : The prestigious project of Tirupati railway station redevelopment as part of ‘Major upgradation of railway stations’ conceptualised by the Ministry of Railways has been progressing well on the expected lines.

It has been taken up by the SCR Zone on priority basis and the works are being carried out at a fast pace. The upgradation works of Tirupati railway station were launched in May 2022 and are now being carried out with full momentum.

While the deadline for the completion of the project was fixed as February 2025, the railway authorities have been monitoring the progress at all levels to ensure its speedy completion. A new station building is coming up on the south side of the existing station building. So far, geological survey, setting-up of camp office, concrete lab and storage sheds, concreting of foundations for the new upcoming station building etc., have been completed. The casting of the basement floor is totally completed while the remaining works are being carried out in fast manner.

Till date, about 11,905 cubic metres of concrete has been used in foundations, columns of basement floor and air concourses, said the chief PRO of SCR Ch Rakesh. The other works that are being carried out include – raising of columns from ground floor to 2nd floor is in progress. Casting of 90 per cent of air concourse foundations was completed on platforms 4, 5 and 6 while works are in fast progress for the same on platform 1.

Excavation work for the construction of sewerage treatment plant of 24 lakh litres per day is completed and 30 per cent concreting of foundations for the same is completed. So far, 2,300 metric tonnes of reinforcement steel is utilised in foundations, retaining walls, basement roof slab, underground tank and air concourses.

General Manager of SCR Arun Kumar Jain said that Tirupati being the world famous pilgrim destination, the upgradation works were being monitored regularly so that the work is not hampered and it is completed within the targeted time.

It may be recalled that the station redevelopment plan has gathered momentum in 2017 with an idea of completing the entire project by 2020. But no progress was made till 2021 except preparing plans and a miniature model of the proposed project. However, the project secured fresh lease of life with the Railway Ministry sanctioning Rs 325 cr for the works in 2022-23 with which the SCR has taken up the works along with 47 other stations.

Now, the works were allotted on ‘Engineering, Procurement and Construction’ (EPC) contract, under which the contractor holds the responsibility towards completing it within the stipulated time. The redevelopment of the station is very much required to meet the increasing number of passengers every year.

The station has only five platforms now which are not sufficient to operate more trains. Though the sixth platform was also completed, it could not be commissioned due to the ongoing works on the southern side. The pilgrim passengers as well as denizens have been eagerly looking to see the modern railway station soon.