The new Hubli Railway Station may become operational before the next Railway Budget is presented.
Speaking to presspersons after reviewing the progress of work here on Tuesday, Praveen Kumar Mishra, Divisional Railway Manager of the Hubli Division of South Western Railway, said the plan was to complete major works on the station building by February-end.
Hurdles cleared
Mr. Mishra clarified that there was no paucity of funds for the project now as Rs. 9 crore had been made available for the current financial year.
Also the structural engineering issues had been sorted out with consultants clearing the drawings and designs of the new railway station.
He said that the new railway station, which was being built at a cost of Rs. 27 crore, would be a model for the whole country. “The drawings and designs prepared by the architects were complicated and we took the help of a team from IIT Madras. They have cleared and approved the designs, thus allaying any fears on the structural engineering aspects,” he said.
By February 2012, works worth Rs. 12 crore would be completed, he said.
Works
He said that of the four blocks of the railway station, works on B, C and D blocks would be completed soon, while the work on the block A would take some more time. “We plan to complete the whole project by 2014 depending on the availability of funds,” he said.
Senior Divisional Engineer (Coordination) P.R.S. Raman said the plan was to complete work on the waiting area and concourse, waiting rooms for the passengers, ticket booking counters, kitchen, food plaza for the passengers, tourist facilitation centre, VIP lounge, toilet blocks and other facilities so that basic amenities would be available when the station became operational.
Second entrance
Mr. Mishra said that soon there would be another entrance point to the Hubli railway station on Gadag Road. “There is enough land available for the purpose,” Mr. Mishra said.
