Maligaon, March 15: For development of Railway stations, the Railway Ministry has formulated up gradation and modernization plans of stations on Indian Railways under various developmental schemes.
Among the 204 stations identified, New Jalpaiguri station under N. F. Railway has also been identified to be upgraded with world class features for providing better, additional and enhanced passenger amenities.
Works for the up-gradation work have already been started. Demolishing work of the old structures including front retail areas and offices etc. in main station building have been started to get the site ready for commencing civil construction works as planned.
The foundation work of the Arrival 1 terminal is going on in full swing. The work for Arrival 2 & departure terminal will start soon. UTS cum PRS counters have been shifted to a new location at Ramnagar Colony Road near the Rest House of Railway Electrification. As the up gradation work progresses, the existing parking area, parcel and RMS offices will also be shifted to new locations soon.
The station will have ultra-modern amenities like large covered parking area, 24X7 power backup, drinking water, air-conditioned lobby, offices, shops, high speed escalator, lift, Air concourse, hotels etc. to provide passengers the airport-like feel & comfort at the same time.
There will be complete segregation between arriving and departing passengers. After completion of the up gradation work, the station will be ready to handle passenger footfall of more than seventy thousand per day from thirty six thousand per day at present. The approximate estimated cost of the entire work of up grading the New Jalpaiguri station will be Rs. 334.72 crore.
New Jalpaiguri station is one of the largest as well as busiest railway stations of N.F. Railway, which serves as a crucial point for all the North-eastern states. Up gradation of New Jalpaiguri station will further help in boosting various sectors of local economy including travel, tourism etc in North Bengal as well as Sikkim. The project of up gradation is targeted to be completed by 2025.
