Redevelopment of Egmore railway station delayed

Redevelopment of Egmore railway station is likely to be delayed as the railway ministry has decided to shut down Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) that was working on making it a world-class facility.Now, railways will have to start work on it afresh.

Since it took almost seven years after the corporation was formed to include Egmore on the list of stations to be developed, shutting down of the corporation will delay it further. IRSDC had also signed an agreement with a public sector firm for the purpose in 2019 and would have floated a tender to take the work forward. The agency, which was set up in 2012, was also entrusted to develop Coimbatore railway station in the state.

Southern Railway has formed a core group to identify stations and carry out redevelopment which includes improving the station, developing its land for commercial use and others. A senior railway official said that railways will now take over the work and will do the redevelopment of stations directly at all divisions. “The core group of officers has been set up at zonal level and at divisional level and will identify stations, conduct studies, call tenders etc. Redevelopment is a new concept different from adding facilities at stations,” he said. Southern Railway is already adding amenities and is improving platforms, buildings at Egmore railway station.

IRSDC’s plan was to use the land available to convert railway stations into huge snazzy structures that look like airport terminals without hampering existing heritage qualities. This also includes developing multi-modal facilities, for which Egmore had good scope because it has suburban trains, express trains, metro rail and MTC connectivity. Egmore railway station is the second biggest station in the city handling more than three lakh passengers per day.