Announced forever, implemented never

City railway station to get face lift
Vijay Times

THE Bangalore City Railway Station is all set to don a new look shortly . The South W estern Railway (SWR) has initiated a series of projects to renovate and upgrade the infrastructure at the existing station building.

The projects, which were pending for a long time, are estimated to cost Rs 5 crore. The projects are expected to be completed in three months time.

Speaking to B BV VT T , SWR Divisional Railway Manager Mahesh Kumar informed that tenders for various projects had been awarded and work on upgradation and renovation would begin very soon. "With the completion of upgradation of eight retiring rooms, we are all set to take up more such works. This will include upgradation of 16 more retiring rooms, addition of 12 new retiring rooms, addition of a 20-bed AC dormitory and a common lounge to improve a 50-bed dormitory ," K umar added.

"Along with improving the infrastructure, we are also trying to focus on passenger friendly amenities," he said. The passenger reservation area at the Bangalore City Station will be improved with seating arrangements. Separate cubicles for foreigners, senior citizens and physically challenged will be provided, explained Kumar .

"In order to make the ticketing process more passenger-friendly , we will provide face-to-face terminals at each ticket counter in the station." Explaining about the concept further , he said that two screens would be provided wherein the person booking tickets would also be able to view details pertaining to seat availability . V Vi is su ua al l m me es ss sa ag ge es s In addition to this, a visual display system would be provided where one would be able to see the availability of the reservation status in different trains. The television screens would show the reservation status in almost all the trains for the next 30 days, K umar said.

"Along with this, measures to improve the ambience of the station such as the renovation of the ’Pay and Use’ toilets and a Customer F acilitation Centre in the concourse area with seating arrangements have been taken," he said. The waiting passengers would also be provided with information on well known tourist destinations of Karnataka. P Po os sh h l lo oo ok ks s "The entrance of the station will sport a rich look with good illumination, landscape and fountains. Though these projects were planned earlier , we were not able to begin work as we were working out the cost. Now , with tenders having been awarded, we have fixed a deadline of three months to complete works, K umar said.

lPlatforms 5 and 6 to be raised

lRe-surfacing of all platforms

lProvision of platform shelters at all vacant places

lWaiting Hall for both men and women to be upgraded

lInstallation of water huts on all platforms

l10 more platform ticket terminals in the concourse area

l10 unreserved ticket terminals in the concourse area

lProvision of a capsule lift