New-look railway station at Paharganj side

After unveiling of the new building block at the Ajmeri Gate side of the New Delhi railway station, the much-neglected Paharganj side is now gearing up for a new look, hopefully in time for the Commonwealth Games in the Capital in October.

Apart from refurbishing the entrance porch and façade, work on resurfacing of the platforms, relaying of walls with granite and installing stainless steel staircase railings, pillars and benches is currently under way. Work on the construction of a new foot over-bridge to connect the platforms to the Paharganj side is also on along with improvements planned in traffic movement at the entrance.

According to Northern Railway Divisional Manager (Delhi) Ashwini Lohani, the idea is to give the station an improved look by not just upgrading the existing facilities but also introducing new features such as the new waiting hall replete with ticket counters and an eatery at the Paharganj side as part of the first-of-its-kind makeover of the station.

“The row of unreserved ticketing counters at the building entrance will now come inside this waiting hall. The parcel office which used to occupy this space has been shifted to the Ajmeri Gate side. This is expected to keep a majority of the waiting crowd at one place,” he added.

Commenting on the new look at the Paharganj side, Mr. Lohani said: “After completing the Ajmeri Gate side building, we decided to give the Paharganj side also a new look in line with the white façade of the Ajmeri Gate building. But unlike the material used there, we would be using white metal for the façade which would also include life-size glass windows. Installation of steel railings, benches and LCD screens has begun and we are expecting the new dustbins to arrive soon as well. Existing enquiry and information system would also be improved by provisioning of digital information systems,” he added.

For regulating the traffic at the entrance, a dedicated four-lane system is also being planned with separate lanes for cars, autos, taxis and through traffic to facilitate dropping off and picking of passengers.

In addition, a new multi-lot parking is also proposed to be built near the Paharganj bridge to supplement the existing parking space of 2,200 square metres at this side of the station. This would be taken up only after the Games, according to Mr. Lohani.

Even as the works seemed stuttering to a completion at the station premises, downplaying the fast approaching deadline and anticipated delay, railway officials expressed confidence of confining to a budget of under Rs.20 crore by mid-September.

Mr. Lohani said: “Though we cater to a daily footfall of 5.5 lakh passengers at the New Delhi railway station, we have to plan all improvements within a budget of under Rs.20 crore whereas the new international terminal T3 at the Delhi airport, which probably caters to only about 5,000 daily footfalls, has been built at a cost of about Rs.9,000 crore.”