MUMBAI: Major suburban railways stations and terminuses may soon have hotels, conference rooms, lounges, restaurants, offices and shops on the station premises much like the facilities offered at the stations buildings in Navi Mumbai.
On Thursday, the Union cabinet approved the redevelopment of around 400 railway stations of ‘A’ and ‘A1’ category across the nation. The stations from the city include Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), Bombay Central, Bandra Terminus, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Kalyan, Dadar, Thane and Panvel.
For the commuters it means they will spend less time travelling from stations to their destinations since the station premises will house f acilities such as shopping centers, shops, restaurants, offices and even hotels. It has been observed that most commuters in the city travel some distances from the station to reach their destinations, thus increasing the travel time and commuting costs.
Besides, the station redevelopment policy likely to be announced on Monday will also pave the way for the revamp of 21 suburban stations sanctioned in Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP-III).
“We are waiting for the policy as that will clarify on exactly how the stations will have to be redeveloped and the revenue sharing model. It will also specify the roles to be played by the railways and state government. The redevelopment project may be allotted by inviting open bidding, in which developers will have to submit the ideas,” said an official, requesting anonymity.
The station space will be divided in two zones - commercial and station area. In the commercial zone, the developer will be allowed to develop facilities such as restaurants, shops, conference, lounges, hotels, office space. In the station area, the developer should provide office space, ticketing area and concourse for commuters.
“The developer will be free to use his creativity and come up with ideas as how best a station can be redeveloped,” said a senior railway official, requesting anonymity.
No comments:
Post a Comment