Pune: Senior officials of Central Railway's Pune division said that work on the new railway terminal at Hadapsar would begin in a couple of months.
Divisional railway manager B K Dadabhoy said Rs 23.94 crore has been sanctioned for the project and that it was expected to be completed within a year. "The railway board has sanctioned the amount and the work is expected to start in a couple of months. Details of the project are being worked out," he added.
Officials said the work involves building two foot over bridges and platforms, circulating areas and passenger amenities, and extending of the existing platforms.
"The necessary plans and drawings have been prepared. We hope the project will be completed as per schedule and the Pune station will get a breather when the new terminal starts functioning," an official said.
"The Pune station is very congested and it is difficult to start additional trains from there at present. Hadapsar is 6 km from Pune station and it is possible to build a terminal station and start trains from there. At present, more than 160 trains, including mail, express and passenger services, pass through Pune station. Moreover, in the recently published draft development plan, the Pune Municipal Corporation has reserved 3.3 hectares of land for railway extension.
Railway minister Suresh Prabhu in his railway budget speech in 2015 had said that while most of the railway terminals in major cities were located in congested areas, the aim was to develop satellite railway terminals with the twin purpose of de-congesting cities and providing services to passengers staying in suburbs.
These terminals will have modern facilities for trains which will also halt for a short while at the existing terminals. The 2015-16 railway budget had allocated Rs 23 crore for the Hadapsar terminal, the same has now been sanctioned.
Commuter groups, however, felt that a lot more needs be done. "Hadapsar is growing at a fast pace and there could be land acquisition issues for the new terminal. As it is, a lot of railway land has been encroached upon and the railways, even after winning court cases, has not been able to remove the encroachments," Harsha Shah, chairperson of Railway Pravasi Group, said.
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Divisional railway manager B K Dadabhoy said Rs 23.94 crore has been sanctioned for the project and that it was expected to be completed within a year. "The railway board has sanctioned the amount and the work is expected to start in a couple of months. Details of the project are being worked out," he added.
Officials said the work involves building two foot over bridges and platforms, circulating areas and passenger amenities, and extending of the existing platforms.
"The necessary plans and drawings have been prepared. We hope the project will be completed as per schedule and the Pune station will get a breather when the new terminal starts functioning," an official said.
"The Pune station is very congested and it is difficult to start additional trains from there at present. Hadapsar is 6 km from Pune station and it is possible to build a terminal station and start trains from there. At present, more than 160 trains, including mail, express and passenger services, pass through Pune station. Moreover, in the recently published draft development plan, the Pune Municipal Corporation has reserved 3.3 hectares of land for railway extension.
Railway minister Suresh Prabhu in his railway budget speech in 2015 had said that while most of the railway terminals in major cities were located in congested areas, the aim was to develop satellite railway terminals with the twin purpose of de-congesting cities and providing services to passengers staying in suburbs.
These terminals will have modern facilities for trains which will also halt for a short while at the existing terminals. The 2015-16 railway budget had allocated Rs 23 crore for the Hadapsar terminal, the same has now been sanctioned.
Commuter groups, however, felt that a lot more needs be done. "Hadapsar is growing at a fast pace and there could be land acquisition issues for the new terminal. As it is, a lot of railway land has been encroached upon and the railways, even after winning court cases, has not been able to remove the encroachments," Harsha Shah, chairperson of Railway Pravasi Group, said.
source
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