Passengers travelling to Ranchi five years down the line for the first time in their life will never come to know how traditional railway station of the city looked like. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu on Wednesday formally launched processes from Railway Headquarters in Delhi via online to convert Ranchi Railway Station into world class with facilities and amenities matching to that of Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, which is considered as one of the finest airports in the world.
DRM SK Agrawal (Ranchi) said little before formal launching of the processes that a world class Ranchi Railway station will have unparalleled looks and feel with amenities and services matching to no other railway station in the State. He said that the railway had already identified 450 acres of land with no need of acquisition/rehabilitation.
"The idea is simple. A third party will develop Railway Station in some 450 acres of land, including presently used area. The developer will have right to use the property partially as entire investment will come from developers' part with not even a single penny from Railways shared. The developer will use some part of developed structure in commercial purposes to recover his cost in a given time, making the business model a win-win situation for both the parties," said Agrawal.
The developed station will have segregated arrival and departure, concourse, food and beverage outlets and restaurants, star rated lounge, waiting rooms, hotel, shopping centre, office space with escalators and elevators and all other modern facilities. The area will be given to developers for maximum of 45 years of lease.
However, Agrawal denied any additional charge for enhanced services in railway provided services. "There will be no added charge against any of the existing services available at the station. If any of the charge is increased, it will be increased by Indian Railways only and will be applicable throughout the country. However, developer will have right to charge for services provided by it in area under its possession," said Agrawal.
Modernisation of Ranchi Railway Station is a part of modernization of 20 stations in the country among the Centre's list of 400 chosen to convert into world-class infrastructure. Prabhu has promised online bidding process and evaluation by independent experts to ensure transparency in this ambitious plan of Indian railways to attract huge foreign investments, as the plan carries option for 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in it. Other than Ranchi, Jharkhand will also have Hatia, Bokaro, Parasnath, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Junction (Gomoh), Daltonganj, Koderma, Jasidih and Madhupur being developed as world class stations at later stages.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Passengers Association has requested Agrawal to complete electrification works on newly constructed Ranchi-lohardaga-Tori-Ranchi route, so that the route became relevant. In a letter written on Wednesday, Association President RK Sarawgi requested the DRM also to provide all the basic amenities like drinking water, shade, toilet, wheel chair, power and such things of immediate requirement at all the stations between Ranchi and Tori.