As the world marks December 3 as The International Day of Persons with Disabilities to help promote the rights and well-being of differently abled people, the Indian railways takes another positive step towards making travel and transportation more convenient and pleasurable for them.
News18 has got access to the railway plans to redevelop one of Bengaluru’s busiest railway stations, Yesvantpur, into a futuristic, Divyang-friendly, green building. This station will also serve as a shopping and entertainment centre for passengers and the public.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of railway stations in June 2020 with a focus on developing the railways and stations as not only a means of service but also to become an asset to the citizens.
Yesvantpur will especially focus on making the station Divyang-friendly and the infrastructure within the station will have specially modelled ramps, lifts, and toilets.
With the cost of the project estimated at Rs 380 crore, it is targeted to be completed by June 2025. It is expected to cater to 1 lakh plus passengers daily with an additional 5 to 6 percent increase with people using the premises for entertainment purposes.
The redesigned station will have a 216-m-wide air concourse with separate gates for arrivals and departures. This will ease congestion, said railway officials close to the design and planning of the new station. A roof plaza has also been planned which will also be fully equipped with disabled-friendly ramps and lifts to give people an experience of shopping in retail spaces and using facilities like the food court and entertainment centres.
Railway officials told News18 that the redeveloped station will emerge as an urban icon of Bengaluru and redefine the train travel experience, setting an example for other stations to emulate. The four-storey building will be designed to connect with Bengaluru’s Metro train service for seamless integration of all modes of public transport to the station, officials privy to the planning said.
Designed as a “green building”, the new railway station will also focus on energy conservation and environmental protection. “There will be measures in place for effective disposal of solid waste, discharge of effluents as well as a rainwater harvesting system to conserve water,” the senior railway official said.
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