Egmore railway station redevelopment delayed

The Ministry of Railways has decided to shut down the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC), which was working on making Egmore a world-class facility, so redevelopment of the station is likely to be delayed. Railways will now have to begin work on it all over again.

Shutting down the corporation will add to the delay, as it took almost seven years for Egmore to be added to the list of stations to be developed after the corporation was formed. IRSDC had also signed a contract with a public sector firm for the purpose in 2019 and planned to put out a tender to complete the work.

Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore railway station was also entrusted to the agency, which was established in 2012.

Southern Railway has formed a core group to identify stations and carry out redevelopment work, which includes things like improving the station and developing the land for commercial purposes. Railways will now take over the work and will redevelop stations directly at all divisions, according to a senior railway official.

A senior railway official said that at the zonal and divisional levels, a core group of officers has been formed to identify stations, conduct studies, and call tenders, among other things. Redevelopment is a new concept that differs from station expansion.

At Egmore railway station, Southern Railway is already adding amenities and improving platforms and buildings.

IRSDC planned to use the available land to transform railway stations into massive, snazzy structures that resemble airport terminals while preserving existing heritage values. This includes creating multimodal facilities, which Egmore has a lot of potential for due to its suburban trains, express trains, metro rail, and MTC connections. Egmore railway station is the city's second-biggest, with over three lakh passengers passing through each day.

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 Also read: Chennai Central, Egmore station redevelopment is yet to start