Jaito, December 28:- A statement issued by the Ferozepur Railway Division said that in view of the rapid and continuous increase in travel demand, there is a need to double the capacity of big cities from the current level to start new trains in the next 5 years. There is a need to increase the service of the existing infrastructure to meet the needs of the coming years. The work to double the basic capacity by the year 2030 will include the following actions.
Extension of existing terminals with additional platforms, stabilization of lines, pit lines, and suitable shunting facilities, identification and construction of new terminals in and around urban areas, maintenance facilities including mega coaching complexes, sectional capacity enhancement with traffic facilitation works, signalling upgradation, and multitracking required at various points to handle increased trains.
Ten stations of Northern Railway have also been planned for infrastructure upgradation. These ten stations are as follows. Delhi, Lucknow, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jammu, Haridwar and Bareilly. While the capacity is planned to be doubled by 2030, it is expected that the capacity will be increased gradually over the next 5 years so that the benefits of capacity addition can be realized immediately. This will help in meeting the traffic requirement gradually over the years.
The plan will categorize the actions under three categories, namely immediate, short term and long term. The plan for the redevelopment work of New Delhi station is as follows. The existing station buildings will be demolished and two station buildings with platform numbers 01 and 16 will be constructed. The new station building will have an area of ??approximately 109000 sq mt of construction area as against the existing 17274 sq mt construction area.
Currently four lakh passengers are being handled daily. The new station is designed to handle seven lakh passengers daily. These buildings will also include adequate holding areas, apron areas for transferring passengers from the elevated road to the station building and retail. These buildings will have parking facilities.
The city traffic and metro are planned to be integrated in various ways. Jammu Tawi station is being upgraded with additional pit lines, 4 additional platforms, 07 additional stabling lines. This infrastructure upgrade will enable better operation of trains, better maintenance facilities. Yard remodeling work is planned for Bareilly Junction. After yard remodeling, this station will be able to run 24 coach trains easily.
Development of sick line, pit line will enable better train operation and train maintenance. Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnav said, "We are expanding coaching terminals in various cities, increasing sectional and operational capacities to meet the growing passenger demand and reduce congestion. This step will upgrade our railway network and improve connectivity across the country."