A fresh tender has been issued by the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) for redevelopment of the New Delhi railway station, which is estimated to cost around Rs 2,500 crore. This is the fifth time that bids have been invited to redevelop the main railway station in the national capital.
In a statement, issued on Monday, the RLDA said it has invited bids for the redevelopment of New Delhi Railway Station and construction of associated Infrastructure on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Mode.
“The New Delhi Railway Station is a flagship project and important trains like Vande Bharat, Rajdhani and Shatabdi originate and terminate at the station. The objective of the project is to elevate this station into a world-class transportation hub, providing state-of-the-art facilities and amenities,” the statement added.
The comprehensive development plan envisions the station as an integrated transportation hub seamlessly connecting rail, metro, bus, and other modes of transport, ensuring convenient and hassle-free connectivity for passengers, the body added.
The main components of the project, it said, include construction of two linear station buildings on Paharganj and Ajmeri gate side, air-concourse having arrival and departure plazas, waiting area, vertical circulation elements such as lifts and escalators, retail area and other services to facilitate the passengers.
Elevated and on-ground road network to provide seamless connectivity to stations and to decongest the roads, platform works, parcel area and two parcel tunnels for smooth handling of parcel, parking and circulation facilities are also planned.
“The revamped New Delhi Railway station will showcase a modern and sophisticated design enriched with state-of-the-art technology. It keeps in mind sustainability measures like green building standards, solar energy and security with CCTV cameras and access control system throughout the station,” the statement added.
The current project, once awarded, will have to be completed in 45 months, as per the documents seen by News18.
The tender has been issued at least four times in the past, but had to be dropped due to various reasons. The first tender was issued in 2001-02, then in 2008-09, in May 2023 and July 2023.
The plans to redevelop the station dates back to 2002, but for a long time the mode selected – Public Private Partnership (PPP) – was the main restriction. Eventually the railways switched to the EPC mode, but the cost quoted was much higher than the allocated cost in the third tender and later there were some design issues. For a long time, land was also a hurdle in the project that was resolved last year after the railways received nod from all the land owning agencies, including the Delhi government.
It is one of the biggest and busiest stations in India that handles with over 400 trains daily and the footfall is close to five lakh. Several major stations across the national capital are already being redeveloped to ease the load in the New Delhi Railway Station.
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