Bengaluru: Towards the end of February, India’s first centralised AC railway terminal will be established in Bengaluru.
The Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal in Byappanahalli will be the first railway terminal in the country with a centralised air-conditioned system. Officials have confirmed that that initially only a few spaces will have air-conditioned rooms but the terminal is expected to get a fully centralised AC system soon. The railway terminal is being constructed to provide an airport-like experience for rail passengers as well.
Approved in the year 2015-2016, the new terminal is expected to increase the operational capacity of the Bengaluru Railways. The 4200 sqm long station building constructed for Rs 314-crore is expected to cater to a daily-footfall of 50,000 people. The terminal has three pit lines,
eight stab lines, and seven platforms. On a daily basis, approximately, 50 trains can be operated from this terminal.
Officials also said that there will be an upper-class waiting hall, VIP lounge with digital real-time passenger information system and food court within the terminal. To facilitate passenger movement, the escalators and lifts will connect seven platforms and all platforms will be linked with two subways and a Foot over-bridge.
The new railway terminal in Byappanahalli has been designed based-on the Bengaluru airport model.
Currently, 109 pairs of passenger trains and 164 pairs s of express trains are being operated from the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Bengaluru (KSR) and Yeshwantpur Railway Stations.
Under the public-private partnership model, the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) is planning to build centralised terminals in Habibganj in Madhya Pradesh and Gandhinagar in Gujarat as well.
Even though the new terminal will aid in decongesting Yeshwantpur railway station and KSR Bengaluru, lack of adequate accessibility to the terminal is expected to cause a problem for passengers.
