City railway station to go passenger-friendly

City railway station to go passenger-friendly
Deccan Herald

Worried over climbing up or down the steps in the subways to reach the platforms in Bangalore City railway station? Breathe easy! The Bangalore division of the South Western Railways is planning to install elevators in the subways.

Divisional Railway Manager Mahesh Mangal says the division spends on an average two-three crores of rupees a year to make the City railway station more passenger-friendly.

For 2006-07, the expenditure may go up to Rs 4 crore as many more works have been taken up, including the lifts in subways.


Besides, more electronic coach guidance display and arrival-departure boards are being put up. More machines to issue platform / unreserved tickets are planned in the current fiscal itself.

Construction of the AC lounge and retiring rooms, and installation of computerised parking system are already completed. Remaining works will be taken up soon.

For the first time in Indian Railways, a ‘ferry’ was introduced to carry the physically challenged at the City station, on October 18. “Three persons can be carried in the ferry at a time.

The service is provided free of cost now but “we’ll take a decision on collecting a fee in due course”, Mr Mangal said.

A proposal to construct a second entry to the station from Malleshwaram has been “worked out”. The total cost of the project, to be taken up as per the ‘plans’ of the BDA (which needs to construct several roads to facilitate the second entry), may go up to Rs 10 crore. “If things go as expected, the work may start by fiscal 2007-08”, he added.

The Bangalore Division of the SW Railways has taken up upgradation of five railway stations as model stations in fiscal 2006-07. They are Bangalore Cantonment, Bangarpet, Krishnarajapura and Tumkur, besides Hosur in Tamil Nadu.

As Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav announced in his Budget 2006-07, on an average Rs 1 crore will be spent on each station and every year five stations will be selected for upgradation.

Construction of buildings, improving the surface area, elevation of platforms, streamlining of enquiry cells, setting up

of well-equipped reservation centres and retiring rooms will be taken up as part of the programme, the Divisional Railway Manager said.