The Southern Railway Construction Organisation (SRCO) has finalised a technical consultancy firm to prepare the master plan and detailed project report for the proposed redevelopment of the Kumbakonam railway station, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Tiruchi Railway Division.
Among the four consultancy firms that submitted bids after floating of a tender, SRCO finalised a Nagpur-based technical consultancy firm to prepare the master plan for the redevelopment project. The Letter of Acceptance (LOA) was issued to the firm on Saturday.
The consultancy firm will depute its professional team to carry out a survey of Kumbakonam railway station and its vicinity initially to ascertain the existing facilities available at the station and the new features that could be added as part of the redevelopment project.
The firm will also carry out sub-soil investigation and study the passenger traffic at Kumbakonam and the developments that could be taken up under this project, a senior railway officer told ‘The Hindu’. The consultancy firm was expected to send its architects, transport experts and urban planners to Kumbakonam - a major station in Tiruchi Division attracting devotees from various parts of the country.
The consultancy firm will prepare the master plan for redevelopment of the station in consultation with the divisional authorities. A detailed project report will be prepared seeking approval and sanction of funds from the railway administration. The proposed project will be executed through EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) mode for which tenders will be floated separately to identify the agency to execute the project, the officer further said.
Kumbakonam has been identified as one of the four railway stations in Southern Railway zone for redevelopment. The other three stations are Tirunelveli, Chenganur and Thrissur. The proposed redevelopment is also aimed at making multi-level improvements of facilities at the stations for the benefit of rail travellers.
