Prime Minister Narendra Modi may inaugurate the newly rejuvenated Ram temple-themed Ayodhya junction, other than attending the pran pratishtha ceremony of the temple idol, on January 22.
Officials with the Northern Railway (NR) said the junction, which underwent a massive rail infrastructure overhaul, will be ready by December-end. “Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya junction rejuvenation will play a crucial role in handling the rising number of tourists and devotees. We are trying our best to complete the entire station facelift job as early as possible. The station’s building work is already done, while the remaining air concourse work, which is in progress, is expected to be completed by December-end," Rekha Sharma, senior Divisional Commercial Manager (DCM), Lucknow Division, NR told News18.
On being asked if the PM may inaugurate the redeveloped Ayodhya junction, the senior DCM said that as it is one of the biggest projects of Ayodhya, there is a possibility that the PM may virtually inaugurate the station.
AYODHYA JUNCTION FACELIFT: USED SAME STONE AS RAM TEMPLE
Ayodhya junction rejuvenation is said to be one of the biggest facelifts carried out at any junction in UP. Railways has pumped in around Rs 620 crore not only to ensure the junction’s expansion and passenger amenities, but also to give the junction a fresh look.
Interestingly, it was ensured that the external facade of the passenger terminal building is made of the same sandstone that is being used for construction of the Ram temple. Sources said the stones for the construction of junction, too, were brought from Bansi Paharpur area of Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, the same place from where the stones for construction of Ram temple were supplied.
PHASE I: NEW STATION BUILDING
Officials said that the junction’s expansion work picked up pace in 2019. However, being a mammoth task, the entire project was divided into two phases. The first phase included the construction of a new station building.
“Under phase one, a three-storey building having a footprint of 140m x 32.6m has been constructed, spanning across an area of 3,645 sqm, with an additional front porch of 140m x 12m to provide a drop-off zone and to protect the passengers from adverse weather conditions. Other than this, the other development work, including the construction of two six-meter-wide Foot Over Bridge (FoB), residential housing complex, facelift of platform number 1, 2 and 3 and beautification of the circulating area, construction of lounges, dormitories and ticket office were completed," a senior officer with the NR said.
PHASE II: PLAZA & AMENITIES
The second phase included the construction of plaza, passenger amenities, including development of air concourse at the platforms, installation of elevators, escalators and other related works.
Officials said that 12 lifts and 14 escalators have been installed at the junction. “Also, a dedicated food court, a commercial area with shops for puja items, cloak room, sick room, infant care room will be added to the passenger amenities at the junction. Besides, there is also a provision for separate arrival and departure for the passengers in order to make the station congestion-free," the officer said.
The station building is ‘Accessible for All’ and ‘IGBC Certified Green Station Building’. The triple height atriums have been provided to facilitate natural skylight to the building. Both ground and the first floor have been equipped with a grand waiting hall and lounge facilities. The mezzanine floor is designated for retiring rooms (30 beds), ladies dormitories (30 beds), men’s dormitories (44 Beds), etc," the officer said.
Officials said the large air concourse of size 128 m x 63 m up to platform number four and five is under construction. Once the construction is done, the station will be ready for inauguration.
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