After taking possession of about three acres of land that was under litigation at the main entry of Yeshwantpur railway station (facing Tumkur Road), the South Western Railway (SWR) intends to offer a host of passenger amenities, including space for vehicle parking.
“We will work in close association with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL), which has its station just in front of the railway station. While the ground floor will be meant for car parking, the first floor will be used for connectivity between the metro and railway stations. However, we are yet to finalise plans for commercial exploitation of the space above the first floor,” Bangalore Division's Railway Manager Sudhanshu Mani told presspersons here on Sunday.
He said the SWR had just sorted out the land issue with the help of the Chief Secretary and BMRCL. A private party had laid claim over the said land. About half an acre of land was still with private parties, for which repossession process through court was on, he said. A portion of the three-acre land was already made available for taxi stand and the rest would be offered for car parking within a few days, Mr. Mani said.
With or without repossession of the half-an-acre land, SWR will offer a wider entry and exit from Tumkur Road to the station, facilitating operation of BMTC buses too. In essence, the entry would be an integration point for metro, Railways and BMTC services, Mr. Mani said. However modalities of financing the traffic integration centre were yet to be finalised, he added.
Other amenities
Yeshwantpur, the second major terminal for Bangalore, handles about 50 pairs of trains every day and about 1.5 crore people in a year. SWR has been working on augmenting passenger amenities, which include a passenger-facilitation centre at the main entry's concourse, six retiring rooms and one dormitory, and a modern food plaza.
Mr. Mani said the parcel complex, which is at the middle of the station, would be shifted to Tumkur-end. Battery-operated mini trucks will transport parcel consignments on separate tracks without disturbing passengers. A new wider foot over-bridge that now connects platforms 1, 2 and 3 will be extended till platform 6.
Old entry
At the old entrance (Platform 1), a few old buildings are being demolished to provide car parking and wider entry and exit. At the same time, a building is under construction to house passenger concourse, passenger facilitation centre, waiting halls, cloak room, and other amenities.
Mr. Mani said the availability of land at this entry was sparse and the SWR was making every effort to provide the best of facilities within the available land. The work is already under progress and will be completed in a few months.
The other works in the pipeline include recycling of about 4-lakh litres of water every day, introduction of mechanised cleaning of the station and the tracks, construction of pay-and-use toilets on platforms 3-4 and 4-5 and a business lounge at the main entry. The total cost of the entire project is about Rs. 4 crore.
