The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), a World Heritage site, will be transformed into a ‘Railopolis’. The plan includes the conservation of the heritage building, a revamp of the areas in and around CSMT station, the convergence of different modes of transportation and designing facilities for passengers. Sources said that the whole idea was to take inspiration from the 1930s and rework on designing CSMT accordingly. Lease rights for real estate up to 99 years for residential or non-residential formats too are being proposed.
According to sources in the Central Railway (CR), the plan is to demolish structures that have been built before the 1950s and create more space for passenger movement. “We plan to demolish a few railway office buildings as well and shift them to Byculla. We will try to replicate the way it was post-1930s, of which we have photographs as well,” said a CR official.
The railway authorities want to clear the clutter in and around the CSMT area. Another railway official said that the plan was to create a multimodal hub for a suburban heritage station, creating a heritage zone and shaping station development through private financing. The concourse area too will be beautified and a green zone created.
“We also plan to shift the Harbour line to the P D’Mello Road side. We will extend the subway and integrate it with the proposed metro station coming up at Azad Maidan. Separate parking, pathways for cabs and pick up/drop zones will also be created for long-distance train passengers,” said another senior railway official. “We will also create a Heritage Square and pedestrian plaza around the heritage building”.
A skywalk or foot over bridge will be constructed to connect all platforms, in addition to the existing one. Additional structures will be removed and replaced with gardens and greenery, as it was in the late 1930s. A corridor depicting the high colonnade structure casting a shadow on the internal corridor and a second façade consisting of perforated screens for ventilation will also be built.
The Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd (IRSDC) that is planning this revamp has already received bids from big companies interested in transforming the CSMT into an iconic centre – including from Godrej Properties Limited, Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holdings Limited, Oberoi Realty Limited, ISQ Asia Infrastructure Investments Pte Ltd., Adani Railways Transport Limited, Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd., GMR Enterprises Private Limited, Moribus Holdings Pte, Ltd. and BIF IV Infrastructure Holding DIFC Pvt. Ltd.
“Nine firms have qualified for the RFQ stage for the redevelopment of CSMT station. In the next step, IRSDC will float a Request for Proposal (RFP) soon to the qualified bidders. CSMT railway station redevelopment is one of our most ambitious projects and we are committed to transform it into a state-of-the-art transport hub,” said SK Lohia, Managing Director and CEO, IRSDC.
Sources said that pre-determined user charges from railway station users, as done at airports, are planned. Long-term lease rights for real estate up to 99 years for residential or mixed-use format and 60 years for non-residential formats are on the anvil. Up to 2.54 lakh sq.metres of built-up area is permitted for commercial development. The redevelopment cost of the station is Rs 1,642 crore.
The IRSDC is working on 63 stations and the RLDA is working on 60 stations. As per current estimates, the total investment needed for the redevelopment of 123 stations along with real estate development is about Rs 50,000 crore. These redeveloped hubs will be called ‘Railopolis’, as they will attract huge investment and business opportunities.
