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Will Secunderabad finally become a world-class station?
Will Secunderabad finally become a world-class station. There is good news for the city. Not just one, but three stations in the city- Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Kacheguda, all under the prestigious A-1 category stations (Stations that make a revenue of over Rs 50 crore annually)-have been given the green signal by the cabinet last week for redevelopment.
With the Cabinet approving the redevelopment of 400 railway stations, the dream of Secunderabad Railway Station becoming a world-class station has come to the fore yet again
There is good news for the city. Not just one, but three stations in the city- Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Kacheguda, all under the prestigious A-1 category stations (Stations that make a revenue of over Rs 50 crore annually)-have been given the green signal by the cabinet last week for redevelopment.
In cold storage for years, the plan to turn Secunderabad into a world-class station has finally received a fillip. Though the railway ministry included it in the 2012 budget yet there was no progress. Maheshwar Singh, a former Railway employee, said, “The station modernisation has been in the dock for more than a decade.
There was a mention even in the 2009 budget to develop the station into a world-class station but nothing has come out of it.” In the past, consultants were hired and Rs 5,000 crore was earmarked but there was no headway. Twice bids were called for but none qualified and as a result the project never took off.
The announcement by the cabinet has once again raised hope for the modernisation of the station. A senior railway official was confident that this time around it will take off as the ministry is expecting $ 120 billion in the next five years.
The challenges in redeveloping the Secunderabad Railway Station are one too many. There is a crying need for extensive area of land on all sides of the station. The Railways is also planning to leverage real estate, land and air space which would be used to develop malls, food plazas, currency exchange counters, retail outlets, internet cafes, car rentals and pre-paid taxi booths among other facilities.
This year, the redevelopment of railway stations was announced in the budget with emphasis on roping in private sector. “How much of profit is guaranteed to private players and what would be the affect on the purse of the passenger is the question.
The Indian railways has been the ‘go to transport’ for the aam aadmi. If we isolate the public, the whole purpose of modernisation will be defeated,” feels K Siva Kumar, divisional secretary, South Central Railway Mazdoor Union (SCRMU).
By T P Venu
