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The government has set a 2020 deadline to redevelop 10 railway stations into world class smart facilities with airport-like amenities at a cost of Rs 5,000Cr. The redevelopment of stations will be carried out under a self-financing model through land monetisation by state-run NBCC.
A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Rail Land Development Authority and NBCC for redevelopment of the stations. The work will start at a few stations by December-end or early next year. The concept designs are already being worked out with a target of two to two-and-a-half years for completion. The stations selected for the project are Delhi Sarai Rohilla, Lucknow, Gomti Nagar, Kota, Tirupati, Nellore, Ernakulam, Puducherry, Madgaon and Thane.
In the first phase, NBCC would redevelop core infrastructure such as platform, lounges, ticketing counters, parking and other passenger amenities, besides building separate arrival and departure terminals on the lines of airports.
Against this, the company would get commercial exploitation rights of the land under these stations for 45 years. It can build or lease land to hotels, malls, multiplexes and corporates, or even develop it for residential purpose.
The Indian Railways has lined up 400 stations for redevelopment on a public-private-partnership basis.