Passengers may soon enjoy ‘airport-like facilities’ at the

Pune railway station. Express Passengers may soon enjoy ‘airport-like facilities’ at thePune railway station. Express

PUNE station is among the 23 railway stations which are going to be revamped along the lines of a ‘Swiss Challenge’ model, in the second phase of a mega modernisation programme slated to kick off later this month. Passengers may soon get to enjoy “airport-like facilities” such as separate entry and exit points, connectivity with local transportation, pick-up and drop-off points, and access to Internet, at 400 stations across the country.

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Other prominent stations that have been included in the ambitious plan are Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Mumbai, and the ones in Thane, Visakhapatnam, Howrah, Kamakhya, Faridabad, Jammu Tawi, Udaipur City, Kanpur Central, Allahabad, Secunderabad, Vijaywada, Ranchi, Chennai Central, Kozhikode, Bangalore Cantonment, Bhopal, Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus, Borivli and Indore.

The plan to develop the stations was placed before the Cabinet by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and approved in 2015. It will be rolled out in a phased manner.

The Railway Board has identified 15 key parameters, including separate arrival and departure terminals, easy connectivity with local modes of transportation such as bus or Metro, and accessibility from both sides of the city. Facilities such as food courts, retail outlets and medical facilities will also be available.

Divisional Railway Manager of Pune, B K Dadabhoy, said though he was yet to receive any communication about the selection of Pune station, the scheme, once implemented, will be a “great leap”. “This scheme is being implemented from Delhi… The transformation, when it does happen, will be a great leap forward for all of us,” said Dadabhoy.

Incidentally, it’s been over three years since a similar plan of development for Shivajinagar railway station, on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, was approved. But nothing much has changed on the ground yet.

According to railway officials, the plan has been delayed as the state government is yet to give its approval for the final plan and “they have put forward some alteration demands which are difficult to meet”.

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