Suburban stations’ makeover right on track

Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, Southern Railway

There’s a great deal of difference between the prominent railway terminals of Tamil Nadu and the hundreds of suburban stations. They are smaller, yes; but they also have no character, are common, drab and sometimes not very clean. While the suburban stations play the important role of transporting thousands of commuters, commercial opportunities are seldom exploited and the less said about maintenance, especially compared with the swanky Metro stations, the better. Though cleanliness and maintenance have improved over the years, many stations still suffer from bad lighting, cramped platforms, chipped, uneven tiling, absence of proper information and announcements, mismatched commuter amenities and inadequate parking spaces.

Taking into consideration all this, the Railway Ministry announced the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) in the Railway Budget 2023-24. It is aimed at transforming and bringing uniformity in civic amenities at suburban stations. The Ministry plans to upgrade all stations in the country in phases under the ABSS.

Under the ABSS, the Railway Board directed that 15 stations be identified in each division of the railway zones in the country for redevelopment. Southern Railway, which has six divisions, was allotted 90 stations for redevelopment; 60 of these stations are in the divisions of Chennai, Tiruchi, Salem, and Madurai, and are to be improved in the first phase.

A senior railway official who was involved in identifying the 15 stations for the Chennai division said the inspiration for the ABSS came from the re-modification of the Kudrah station in Odisha. The official said the 15 suburban stations located in and around the city are set to become landmarks. Some of them — including Guindy, Guduvancheri, Chengalpattu, Arakkonam, St. Thomas Mount and Tiruvallur — will turn out to be multi-modal transport hubs. The railway officials in Chennai have involved the stakeholders of the Tamil Nadu government, including Chennai Corporation, Chennai Unified Metro Transport Authority (CUMTA), Metro and Highways, in the project.

The senior official said the Guindy station, situated between the Metro station and the bus stop on Race Course Road, will get a common access to both the Metro station and the bus stop through a foot overbridge. The inter-link will facilitate seamless movement of passengers to any of these facilities. Much neglected stations in the northern section, including Sullurpeta and Gummidipoondi, are to be redeveloped and become important transit points for commuters bound for Andhra Pradesh and beyond.

In the western section, the Perambur, Ambattur and Tiruvallur stations are set for a makeover. The railway officials plan to make Perambur a mini-terminal for a section of long-distance trains and help save on their running time. Also the historic Chennai Beach station — from where the first metre-gauge train was operated to Tambaram — is likely to see a remarkable change.

Southern Railway Chief Public Relations Officer B. Guganesan said the ABSS is aimed at creating roof plazas and city centres by drawing up a master plan for stations. It also seeks to meet the needs of the stakeholders by upgrading amenities and introducing new ones. The master plan for all the 90 stations in the six divisions had been approved and tenders had been awarded for 35 stations. Tenders for the remaining 55 stations were being finalised. He said 12-metre-wide foot overbridges were planned at 13 stations; six of them were to be installed in the Chennai division alone. The total outlay for 148 projects at the 90 stations is ₹934 crore, with the four divisions in the State accounting for ₹630.47 crore.