Rly station to get Chinese makeover

Rly station to get Chinese makeover
Deepa Bhasthi | TNN

Bangalore: A Chinese railway team is set to help turn Byappanahalli railway coach terminal into a world-class station.
South-Western Railway, headquartered in Hubli, has two coaching terminals for the city, one at Yeshwantpur and the other at City junction. The new one at Byappanahalli will have worldclass facilities, say officials.
The railway department has 100 acres in Byappanahalli and is willing to acquire more.
SWR divisional railway manager Akhil Agrawal told TOI a Chinese delegation had paid two visits to Bangalore to inspect the site and understand the need for the upgrade. The last visit of the Chinese delegation was in mid-July. The team’s report with ideas and suggestions is awaited.
The new station is still at the conceptual stage. Agrawal said it was not yet clear whether it would be upgraded under the public-private partnership model. “The terminal will be worldclass, with modern infrastructure and passenger amenities, better ambience, restaurants and shopping centres,’’ he said.
The move is part of the railways initiative to give 24 stations in metropolitan cities a makeover. Most stations in the country are several decades old and lack basic infrastructure, and passengers often complain of bad facilities.
The Chinese team, which has signed an MoU with Indian Railways, will submit a report with suggestions on how the new terminal can be built. The delegation is expected to make more trips to study the situation before submitting the final report, after which construction will start.
Area profile
Byappanahalli, on Mysore Road, is thickly populated. It is also significant as a Metro Rail station will be constructed here. The existing station is one of the oldest in the area. The new terminal, spread over about 100 acres, or more, if required, will help ease traffic on railway tracks. The City railway station, being locked on all sides, has no option of expansion. Byappanahalli is one of the lesser congested parts of the city and has more scope to develop into a larger terminal, say officials.
BYAPPANAHALLI UPGRADE
New, world-class station planned at Byappanahalli Engineers drawing up blueprint Chinese railways to assist in planning and designing Station to have shopping centres, hi-tech facilities Will be built on 100 acres Chinese delegation paid two visits to Bangalore to inspect the site