14 leading Developers, Funds & Consultants participated in the Pre-Bid Meeting regarding redevelopment of Surat, Udhna and Udaipur Railway Stations

14 leading Developers, Funds & Consultants, namely, Adani, Kalpataru Group, Cube Constructions, JKB Infrastructure, GMR, MBL Infrastructures, Monte Carlo, G R Infra, Thoth Infrastructure, PSP Projects, Virtuous Retail South Asia Pvt. Ltd., Sikka Associates, Egis India and Adroit Financial participated in the Pre Bid Meeting held on 14.9.2021 regarding redevelopment of Udaipur, Surat and Udhna Railway Stations. The Pre Bid Meeting was conducted by Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC), mandated to redevelop these three stations.  The objective of redevelopment is to transform these railway stations into ‘Railopolis’ to provide state-of-the-art amenities at par with those of an international airport for a superior travel experience.

“We are enthused by the overwhelming response in this recently concluded Pre-Bid Meeting as well regarding redevelopment of Surat, Udhna and Udaipur Railway Stations. The stations will be redeveloped in line with global standards to transform them at par with international airports and provide world- class amenities to the travellers. The station redevelopment will confer several benefits in terms of improved connectivity, multi-modal transport integration and boosting retail and real estate. It will also lead to the generation of employment opportunities, thereby ushering a socio-economic transformation of the respective regions,” said Shri S. K. Lohia, MD & CEO IRSDC.

The Udaipur Railway station will be redeveloped on a Design-Build Finance Operate Transfer (DBFOT) model on the principle of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). The total area for development is 4,98,115 sq.m, and the built-up area for station estate development is up to 1,01,374 sqm. The indicative cost for redevelopment is Rs.132 crores over a three- year timeframe. The concessionaire period is 60 years.The redevelopment of Udaipur Railway Station envisages a new east-side entry station building, providing new East-West Road connectivity through Railway Under-Bridges, connectivity with ISBT through commercial land via a network of pedestrian walkways, and easy signage for all types of passengers.

The redevelopment of the Surat MMTH Railway Station will be carried out by a special purpose vehicle, Surat Integrated Transportation Development Corporation Limited (SITCO), incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 as a joint venture amongst IRSDC, GSRTC and SMC, with the approval of Ministry of Railways and Government of Gujarat. The total area for development is 3,31,491 sq. m. for the Surat MMTH Railway Station and 7,38,088 sq. m. for Udhna Railway Station. The built-up area (BUA) for station estate development is approximately 4,65,000 sq. m., and 37,175 sq. m. for the Surat MMTH Railway Station and Udhna Railway Station, respectively. The indicative cost of the Surat and Udhna railway station redevelopment is INR 1285 crores over a four-year timeframe.

Proposed amenities in the Surat Project include improved connectivity and circulation plan for seamless access and movement, a new East-West Road to provide connectivity to the eastern side, a central concourse and walkways as passenger interchange plaza providing seamless interconnectivity to railway platforms, GSRTC terminal, BRTS/City bus terminal, proposed Metro, parking zones, recreational zones, easy signage, etc. for passengers.

IRSDC is driving the agenda of station redevelopment envisioned by the Government of India, with the participation of private players as a part of PPP projects. As part of this agenda, work on the redevelopment of 125 stations is in progress. Out of this, IRSDC is working on 63 stations, and RLDA is working on 60 stations and two remaining stations by Railways itself. As per current estimates, the total investment needed for the redevelopment of 125 stations along with real estate development is about Rs 50,000 crore.

IRSDC:

Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd. (IRSDC) is a Joint venture company of RLDA, RITES and IRCON. IRSDC is at the core of Indian Railway’s mission of transforming the country’s railway stations into world-class 24×7 hubs and is the Nodal Agency and the main Project Development Agency (PDA) for the redevelopment of Railway stations. To fast track the redevelopment of Railway Stations and harness the true value of commercial development, the following tools have been developed by IRSDC/MoR to streamline all processes for planning, designing, tendering, implementation and management of Railway Stations in India:-

1. Model Agreements for Station redevelopment and Station Facility Management;
2. Harmonized Guidelines for Standards of Accessibility & Provisions of Facilities for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) in Indian Railways – by MoR
3. Form-based codes for Commercial Development within Railway Land, comprising of:-

3.1.    Codes for Station Area Layout Regulating Plans;

3.2.    Codes for Property Development Cards (Commercial Development);

3.3.    Codes for Architectural Design within Commercial Development;

3.4.   Codes for Green Buildings within Commercial Development;

4. Handbook for Preparation of Layout Regulating Plans and Property Development Cards;
5. Codes for up-gradation of Heritage Railway Assets (For full project lifecycle);

 With the application of these tools developed by IRSDC/MoR, the availability of public area in Railopolis shall increase, thus making such redeveloped railway stations as true “City Centres”.