PM asks railways to speed up station redevelopment

Wants rural rail infra to be used for skill development, leading to increase in non-fare revenue; Railways currently working on revamping 400 stations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a  meeting with key officials in the railways and roads sectors where he asked the Indian Railways to increase the pace of implementation of its station redevelopment programme. He also highlighted the need for more private investment to be brought in the roads sector.

“The Prime Minister stressed upon the need to speed up the redevelopment of railway stations, and urged the railways to substantially raise its level of ambition in this regard. He emphasised the need for the Railways to upgrade and diversify the uses of its infrastructure,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

Modi highlighted railway infrastructure in rural areas could be used for activities such as skill development and this could also result in an increase in non-fare revenue for the Railways, the statement said. The rail ministry is currently working on a drive to give a facelift to more than 400 major stations across the country, as announced in last year’s Railway Budget.

The Union Cabinet had last July approved a proposal for redevelopment of railway stations on a “as is where is” basis by inviting open bids from interested parties, who would submit their designs and business ideas. As part of the proposal, zonal railways concerned would permit commercial development of real estate, including land and air space, in and around the stations to enable their redevelopment.

The Indian Railway Station Redevelopment Corporation (IRSDC) had earlier this month invited an expression of interest for redevelopment of the Surat station in Gujarat. Apart from Surat, IRSDC is currently working on six projects — Anand Vihar, Bijwasan, Chandigarh, Habibganj, Shivaji Nagar and Mohali.

During Monday’s review of the railway sector, Modi was informed the capital investment in 2015-16 stood at more than Rs 93,000 crore, representing an increase of 65 per cent over the previous year. The railways commissioned 1,780 km of new lines and electrified 1,730 km of route length last financial year.

In the roads sector, Modi was informed over 6,000 km of highways were completed in 2015-16 while contracts for an additional 10,098 km were awarded. “The Prime Minister stressed on the need to study various models of road development across the country, and adopt the best practices so that more private investment can be brought into the highway construction sector,” the official statement said.

The PM stressed on the need for de-congesting critical stretches of roads and highways and adoption of latest technologies for toll collection, the statement said. Modi later said in a tweet that the completion of highways was going on at a remarkable pace.