While development of Mangaluru Central or Mangaluru Junction railway stations into World Class stations is yet to take any final shape, the Southern Railway is working on a concrete proposal to develop Mangaluru Central into international standards.
The proposal follows an assurance by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to develop all A1 and A category railway stations into international standards. Upgrading Chennai Central and Kozhikode Stations of Southern Railway is already in an advanced stage, said A.K. Sinha, Chief Planning and Development Engineer, Southern Railway, Chennai.
The Kukke Shree Subrahmanya-Mangalore Railway Commuters Forum, Puttur, had recently petitioned Mr. Prabhu, among other things, about the improvement of Mangaluru Central and Mangaluru Junction railway stations. In reply to the letter, Mr. Sinha told Sudarshan Puttur, organiser of the forum, that Mangaluru Central, an A1 category station, would be developed as promised by the Minister.
Mr. Sinha told The Hindu that preliminary plan for developing Mangaluru Central is ready while the detailed proposal would get ready in about six months, by which time the Railways would invite tenders for development. The private partner would develop the station on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis with a lease period for 45 years, he said.
The detailed proposal would be made keeping in mind the future growth of the city for the next four decades. While the developer would be offered a parcel of surplus railway land for commercial exploitation, he would be required to develop the existing railway station to international standards and operate the station too. The Railways’ role would be limited to operating trains from such stations.
It would also be in line with the Union Urban Development Ministry’s initiative to be in sync with the smart city project since Mangaluru is chosen to be one of the smart cities, Mr. Sinha said. The station would have waste water recycling, rainwater harvesting and solar energy harnessing facilities too.
Right now, the Railways is working on identifying land that could be handed over to the private player and also finalising other modalities, Mr. Sinha added.
He hoped that unlike the World Class station proposal which did not reach any logical end, the proposal to develop all A1 and A category stations should succeed. Work on improving Mangaluru Junction, which is an A category station, would be taken up at a later stage.
