China to rebuild two Indian railway stations

NEW DELHI: India will utilise Chinese expertise to reconstruct the Bhubaneswar and Bangalore railway stations. A railway team from China recently visited India to gain first-hand knowledge of their current state.

“We have sought the expertise of Chinese railway and German railway with whom we have MoUs to develop four stations,” KC Jena, chairman of Railway Board said. The Germany railway team had also come to India to visit these stations. Railways have identified 24 stations in metropolitan cities and major tourist centres across the country for development through public-private partnership.

About the possible shape and expectations, Jena said, “Besides modern infrastructure, the latest in passenger amenities, facilities of shopping and restaurants, and excellent ambiance would give a pleasant feeling to the public.”

Besides these four stations, railways have carried out preparatory work for developing stations at New Delhi, Patna, Mumbai and Secunderabad to world-class level. Indian Railway carried over 6,600 million passengers in 2007-08 and the target for 2008-09 is over 7,000 million, which is among the highest in the world for rail travel. The figures are likely to be about 8,400 million by the end of the 11th five-year plan.