All you need to know about the New Delhi Railway Station redevelopment plan

Based on the initial bid, the Rs 6,500-crore project will include a mix of retail, office, and hospitality developments in an area near central Delhi's Connaught Place

The Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) has invited bids from private developers for the redevelopment of New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) into a world-class railway station. The first phase of this project will involve development on about 110 acres of land.

Based on the initial bid, the project will include a mix of retail, office, and hospitality developments in an area near central Delhi’s Connaught Place (CP). The Rs 6,500-crore project will result in commercialisation of a 230,000-square-metre (sq mt) area, a flyover to decongest traffic at CP, the redevelopment of a stadium, and reconstruction of three railway colonies near the station.

When did it all start?

Terry Farrell and Partners, a Hong Kong-based architectural firm, submitted a master plan in 2006. This included a project of 16 commercial towers from the Paharganj end of the station to the CP end. However, the project did not take off as the proposal required the station’s shutdown for several months, the inclusion of a yard, and the planned 460,000 sq mt of commercial space extending up to CP – all of these faced objections from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

On February 8, 2008, at least 35 companies — including Reliance Energy, GMR, DLF and Videocon Industries — also expressed interest in modernising the station. The project, which was seen as a showpiece ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2010, was again dropped after objections from the DDA.

What the new station will look like?

The goal is to improve the infrastructure to provide efficient movement of traffic and pedestrians to and from NDLS, offer state-of-the-art facilities for passengers, and develop NDLS into an integrated development with commercial, retail and hospitality components in the heart of the national capital.

The revamp of the NDLS station will comprise station redevelopment (about 310,000 sq m), a new elevated concourse, renovation of 16 platforms, refurbishing the existing station buildings, the development of associated infrastructure, an elevated access road network, and a multi-level car parking (with other associated components to be developed and handed over to Northern Railways), railway quarters on 40,000 sq m of land, railway offices on 42,000 sq m and social infrastructure across around 7,800 sq m.

Salient features of the planned redevelopment

Some of the salient features of the planned redevelopment are an elevated concourse with segregation of arriving and departing passengers, refurbished platforms with easy access from the concourse level, a mezzanine level exclusively for passenger facilities like lounges, food courts and restrooms, an elevated road network with multiple entry and exit points, and a multi-level car parking facility.

To make the project financially viable for a private player, the project would also include a significant commercial component entailing a mix of retail, office and hospitality developments on about 30 acres. This includes 72,500 sq m of retail space, a 35,000 sqm hotel, and 103,000 sq m of office space.

Expected investment

The capital expenditure for the whole project is estimated at around Rs 6,500 crore, of which roughly Rs 5,000 crore is expected to be incurred on station redevelopment and associated components. The project will be given out on a Design Build Finance Operate Transfer (DBFOT) basis for a concession period of 60 years to a private developer or consortium that will be selected through a competitive bidding process.

The selected concessionaire will be able to earn revenues from several components of the project, including passenger-handling fees collected from passengers via ticket sales, revenues from passenger facilities within the station, such as retail areas, lounges, parking, advertisement spaces, food & beverages, etc, besides income from the development and lease of commercial components.

By December 2020, the authority aims to call bids for execution from selected bidders. The project is expected to be completed over four years after signing of the concession agreement.