MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)
(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2408 BY SHRIMATI K. MARAGATHAM TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 26.12.2018 REGARDING SMART RAILWAY STATION
(a) Government has recently approved Railways’ proposal for redevelopment of railway stations by Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC) as Nodal Agency, through simplified procedures and for longer lease tenure. Accordingly, all the stations on Indian Railways, located in various States and Union Territories of the country, have been entrusted to IRSDC for undertaking the techno-economic feasibility studies. Based on the outcome of the feasibility studies, the stations are planned to be taken up for redevelopment in phases. The cost of station redevelopment project is to be met by leveraging commercial development of land and air space in and around the stations. Therefore, no funds are earmarked for this purpose.
(b) Yes, Madam. The major components of redeveloped stations are envisaged as under:
• Redevelopment of station building to provide an iconic structure with modern state-of-the-art facilities.
• Congestion free non-conflicting entry/exit to the station premises. Segregation of arrival/departure of passengers- No conflict between incoming and outgoing passengers.
• Adequate concourse without overcrowding- generally above the platforms/lines. All essential facilities at concourse- catering, small retail, wash rooms, cloak rooms, drinking water, ATM, pharmacy, internet, etc.
• Integration with other modes of public/private transport systems e.g. Bus, Metro, etc.
• Integrating both sides of the city, i.e. entry/ exit on both sides of the station wherever site conditions permits.
• No parcel movement across the length of platforms.
• User friendly international signage understandable by all sections of passengers.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for mutual cooperation between the two Ministries for integrated planning of redevelopment of railway stations in the cities included in ‘SMART Cities’ and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) schemes. Ten stations viz., Tirupati, Delhi Sarai Rohilla, Nellore, Madgaon, Lucknow, Gomtinagar, Kota, Thane new, Ernakulam Jn. and Puducherry have been taken up for redevelopment under the ‘SMART Cities’ scheme.
(c) & (d): Yes, Madam. Earlier, on 24th June 2015, Cabinet had approved Railways’ proposal for redevelopment of ‘A1’ and ‘A’ category stations by Zonal Railways. Railways had advertised its plan to offer ‘A-1’ and ‘A’ category stations on Indian Railways (about 400 stations) for redevelopment on ‘as is where is’ basis, by inviting open bids from interested parties duly providing for amenities and other requirements of the Railways. The cost of station redevelopment was to be met by leveraging commercial development of land and air space in and around the stations. Twenty three stations were initially taken up for bidding in first phase by Zonal Railways under the Program. Out of these 23 stations, bids were received for two stations only, viz. Jammu Tawi and Kozhikode stations, which are under evaluation. No bids were received for other stations. In view of the not so-encouraging response, the Government has simplified the schemes for redevelopment of stations on fast track like, longer lease period up to 99 years, allowing multiple subleasing, redevelopment of stations through various business modes etc.
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