Facelift on track for Ring Railway stations,red flag for ‘real’ issues

The Ring Railways has witnessed a steady decline in footfall over the past few years. The Railway authorities feel the facility does not have the potential to turn into a major revenue earner.

Now,seven stations that are close to the Games venues are in the process of getting a facelift “just in case visitors walk in”.

According to Northern Railways spokesperson,work has been sanctioned to improve the stations in Chanakyapuri,Sarojini Nagar,Inderpuri Halt,Lajpat Nagar,Sewa Nagar,Lodhi Colony and Safdarjung.

“The circulating area will be improved by providing pathways,re-surfacing roads and giving a facelift to the station buildings. Platform surface will be improved by providing concrete cement flooring,repairing broken boundary walls and installing benches. New signages will also be put up,” the spokesperson said.

“The estimated cost of the project is Rs 3 crore.”

Divisional Railway Manager of Northern Railways,Ashwani Lohani,told Newsline,“Local trains in the Capital are not as popular as they are in Mumbai because of the geographical make-up of the city. There are no major plans for the Ring Railways because they don’t seem to have much potential for development.”

Most of the stations on the Ring Railway do not have proper entry or exit points and there are no proper roads leading out of the stations. Most passengers have to walk through residential colonies to the reach the connecting road in the absence of an organised feeder bus service.

While the Railways have little hope from the local train network,the Transport department claims to have conveyed to the Railways that developing the system might help decongest the Capital.

Transport Commissioner R K Verma said: “In our earlier discussions we have conveyed to the Railways that if the Ring Railway service is developed it will help in decongesting roads in the city and also be a convenient mode of transport to the NCR.”

Ring Railway was introduced in 1975 and then upgraded in 1982 for the Asiad. Around 24 additional services were run on the line during the 1982 Games to handle the additional passenger load. At present,trains run on the Ring Railways — 7 clockwise and 6 anti-clockwise — with a peak frequency of 60-90 minutes in the morning and evening rush hours.