New Delhi:
The New Delhi railway station is getting a sleek new look. From
new infrastructure to technological enhancements, the station
is on track to reach world class status by 2010.
Other than completion of the mammoth Route Relay Interlocking
System (RRI), that came after circuiting an area of about 3.5
km using 700km of cables, the station plans to offer a lot more
to its passengers by the year-end. A sprawling new building with
enhanced passenger amenities, international graphic signs, disabled-friendly
platforms, shopping arcade, food court and the list goes on.
The completion of the first phase of the renovation came at a
cost of Rs 71 crore. Apart from the route relay interlocking system
that costed India Railways Rs 27 crore, the maintenance facility
of the station f also been upgraded by the addition of a track.
A new track has also been added to remove the bottleneck from
the Sadar Bazaar side. "The completin of RRI has made sure
that there was no conflicting movement on the tracks. Not just
that, the RRI will also drastically reduce the chances of rail
traffic congestion," said a Northern Railway spokesperson.
The entire RRI system is controlled from power cabin where the
operators have a layout in front of them indicating the occupied
and unoccupied tracks. With RRI capable of handling 1,278 routes,
the station has also entered the Guiness book of World Records.
According to a railway official, the transformation of New Delhi
Railway Station is not just because of the Commonwealth Games
but also to handle 8-12% growth in passenger traffic in last 2-3
years.
Northern Railways chief spokesperson, Rajiv Saxena said, "With
the increase in passenger rush, its not just the rail traffic
that has to be smothered but facilities for passengers comfort
are also to be added. To meet this demand, railways is carrying
out the required changes. The situation has also added four platforms
(two of which are to be completed shortly), which will ease out
the problem of trains getting held up because of the unavailability
of platforms. Saxena added, "Going by the fact that during
the peak season the station handles more than 4 lakh passengers
space."
The new 80,000-square foot station building at the Ajmeri gate
entrance will only make things better. According to a Railway
official, it will be a state-of-the-art building. Expected to
be ready by December-end, it will have a touch screen enquiry
system, plasma TV but also an AC ticketing area. The building
will also house both AC and non-AC waiting rooms and dormitories.
