The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) officials made a presentation on the proposal to shift the Dehradun railway station to Harrawala.
The shift has been proposed considering the increasing population of Dehradun, resulting in traffic jams and the non-feasibility of constructing more platforms at Dehradun railway station. The presentation of the pre-feasibility study conducted by the MDDA on this proposal was made in a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar.
As per the proposal, the private sector will also be involved in the construction of the new railway station. The proposal will be given final touches after a meeting with Railway officials after which it will be sent to the Ministry of Railways for approval. According to the study conducted by the Uttarakhand Infrastructure Development Company limited, shifting the railway station to Harrawala will decrease congestion in Dehradun, improve connectivity and facilitate development of suburban areas. The present railway line from Dehradun to Harrawala will be converted into an expressway which will enable entry to the heart of the town in 10 minutes.
MDDA vice chairman R Meenakshi Sundaram, there is no scope for increasing number of platforms at Dehradun railway station due to which the number of trains arriving here is not increasing. The trains which arrive at Dehradun cross six railway crossing which in turn creates traffic jams. According to the study conducted, 24,177 footfalls are recorded at the railway station daily and this number is expected to increase to 28,372 in 2016. Presently 470 vehicles are parked outside the railway station and this number is expected to increase to 913 in 2016. At present there are four railway platforms and 18 trains with the number of trains expected to increase to 20 in 2016. Sundaram added that the new design of the Harrawala railway station will include all modern facilities.