Rs 2,000-crore makeover for 20 Mumbai railway stations

News trickling in from the first ever highlevel joint meeting between the Maharashtra government and Indian Railways will surely bring a smile to the faces of Mumbaikars who can now look forward to swankier suburban stations and more seamless connectivityThe Andheri station which was recently renovated is an example of how other stations might look in the future PicsSatyajit DesaiThe Central railway ministry and the state government have reportedly given the green signal to an ambitious Rs 2000crore joint project in which 20 railway stations on the Central and Western lines will be completely revampedThe recently renovated Andheri station is an indication of what suburban stations in the city might look like in the future once the Rs 2000crore project takes offAccording to a senior railway official who attended the meeting on January 8 the renovation will be undertaken at the stations and the area around themNot only would they be renovated to ensure more space and better facilities escalators foot overbridges ATVMs etc these stations would connect commuters to other transport modes such as the Metro rail or buses ldquoThe whole idea is to provide seamless transfer for commuters using the railways Metro rail Monorail and BESTrdquo said the officialAndheri an examplePresently the Andheri station which was recently renovated is a clear example of how a railway station in Mumbai might look in the future The authorities have already made ample changes at the station especially on the west sideTicket counters have been shifted to the first floor along with the ATVMs to make the ticket booking process smoother There are open spaces to accommodate the peak hour commuter traffic and the gleaming concourse is clean and welllitOn the east side of the station the suburban rail connects with the Metro rail through the skywalk making the transit from one service to another easier Below work is going on to extend the Harbour line till Goregaon Sources said that this will slowly become the model that they will follow at all 20 selected stationsldquoWe will be implementing this project under the phaseIII of Mumbai Urban Transport Project MUTPrdquo said a senior railway official on condition of anonymity It must be noted that Andheri station is one of those stations and it will continue to see more changesAs per the plans the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation MRVC will transfer the eatery counters and all other stalls and restaurant chains to upper floors leaving the ground floor free for commuter movementWhere possible the authorities might even create commercial office spaces on the upper levels ldquoWe will use the air space at these railway stations and everything will be shifted thererdquo said an MRVC officialMinister speakldquoRailways is important for the Government of India Yesterday Thursday we met the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and discussed having an integrated transport system that can be developed in Mumbai in a holistic mannerrdquo said Suresh Prabhu Union railway minister