South Central Railway General Manager Ravindra Gupta has announced that a bogie components manufacturing unit will be established at Thondamanadu village located between Tirupati and Srikalahasti.
Mr. Gupta, who has been elevated as a member of the Railway Board, went around the railway station on Friday and inspected various passenger amenities in the station. Interacting with the media, he said that the State government initially offered 30 acres of land for the facility and agreed to acquire more at the earliest. The facility is expected to bring employment to 300 persons and more indirect jobs.
Similarly, Tirupati is one among the 10 stations identified initially by the railway ministry across the country to be developed on commercial lines into world class terminals. “The State government, the railway ministry and the NBCC (National Buildings Construction Corporation) have entered into an MoU to develop Tirupati under the PPP mode,” Mr.Gupta said.
The existing platforms, lounges, ticket counters etc. will be improved and the space will be put to commercial use for achieving a win-win situation. Since Tirupati has also been included in the list of smart cities, it is likely to leverage those funds to improve technology in the railway premises.
Mr. Gupta also announced that the issues pertaining to developing Tiruchanur halt station would be overcome and that the terminal station would be ready in a year. Similarly, the land dispute hindering the opening of the entrance south of the existing station had been resolved and hence it would be taken up soon, a major step to decongest the station.
