By Annapurna Sinharay
“A small platform, with a banyan tree, a stationmaster and two trains a day, one coming and one going”—in all honesty, these lines, from RK Narayan’s famous novel Malgudi Days, aptly capture the vision of the ordinary railway station in India. A more luxurious version of this station will probably have a canopy of tin, partially roofing the platform, limited segregation of arrival and departure lounges, poor access control accompanied by frenzied milling passengers, hawkers and, of course, the occasional mongrel dog.
Thankfully, the government was responsive and has come up with a mega-scheme, namely, the ambitious ‘Station Redevelopment Programme’. Touted to be the world’s largest transit-oriented development programme, the Station Redevelopment Programme is a measure undertaken in time to tackle our ailing railways (and the upcoming election). It is only a matter of time before our stations are at par with the world’s best, equipped with state-of-art amenities such as escalators, elevators, digital signage, self-ticketing counters, executive lounges, walkways, luggage screening machines, free and paid WiFi, among others.
The world’s largest transit-oriented development programme
The NDA government came to power wooing its voters with promises to revamp the dying railway system in India. True to their word, in 2015 the then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented the promising Station Redevelopment Project centred on crafting smart, ergonomic station designs for revitalising 400 railway stations across 100 cities. The prototypes took account of a helipad, green buildings, malls, medical facilities, multiplexes and other commercial units.
In July 2015, the Cabinet sanctioned the Station Redevelopment Project, envisaging redevelopment of a land area of 2,700 acres, a cost of Rs 68,000 crore for commercial development and Rs 28,000 crore for revamp of the stations. Facing a paucity of funds, combined with the importunate pressures of necessity, the station’s redevelopment, with the overall size of 1 lakh crore, was decided to be made through public-private-partnership (PPP) mode (modified Swiss Challenge mode). Thus, no funding would be required from the Indian Railways, everything was to be taken care of by private investors to whom stations would be allotted through a transparent bid system. In return, about 2,200 acres of unoccupied and undisputed land at or near those 400 railway stations were to be leased to the developers for 45 years.
However, dissatisfied with the net results and slackening progress, current Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has now decided to make it more market-friendly by extending the lease from 45 years to 99 years. Also, in an unprecedented move, the Railway Board has permitted residential development along with commercial development as part of the redevelopment scheme of railway stations.
Companies that have shown interest
The Indian Railways Station Redevelopment Project has received a shot in the arm with nine eager countries jumping in at the opportunity to invest. According to official reports, China is keen to develop Jhansi and Agra stations; South Korea has expressed interest in making New Delhi station; France has agreed to redevelop Ludhiana and Ambala stations on Delhi-Chandigarh route; Canada has shown interest in upgrading a few stations in Mumbai; Malaysia is keen to develop Howrah, Secunderabad, Udaipur, Faridabad, Indore and Pune stations. This aside, a number of companies have also expressed interest. Habibganj in Bhopal has already been allotted to a consortium of city-based Bansal Construction and Indore-based Prakash Asphalting and Toll Highways (India) Ltd. Other enthusiastic companies are IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd, GMR Group Infrastructure company, Tata Realty and Infrastructure, Brigade Group, Mantri Developers, Raheja, Shapoorji Pallonji, Reliance Infra, Lanco Infratech and the Essel group. Boston Consulting Group is preparing the strategy. Ernst & Young is also involved.
Why allotment of residential land alongside railways?
The problem of uncontrolled urbanisation is surfacing in all cities across the globe. Much of what contributes to this problem is urbanisation without adequate foresight or planning. As urbanisation rises, infrastructure declines. Air pollution, congestion on road, mercenary depletion of natural resources and inadequate water supply are examples of the vices of unplanned development. One of the solutions that urban development experts have thought of to offset this unseemly trend is transit-oriented development.
Transit-oriented development is a popular term in urban planning that stands for vibrant, sustainable, pedestrian-oriented communities positioned around superior train systems. The focus is to develop a compact, connected, and coordinated plan that has a direct impact on urban mobility and the economy. The bottom line of this scheme is to reduce the dependency on private vehicles.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that the greatest benefit of transit-oriented development is lowered emissions. This is a result of fewer cars on the road. With fewer cars on the road, a wave of other benefits follow: Fewer transportation expenses for families, a wide range of transportation facilities to choose from, and increased transit ridership that in turn increases revenue for the city. The money saved by not having a car also benefits people, as there is more money to be spent elsewhere than a car. With cars gone, communities turn to walking thereby making healthier lifestyle choices.
Another good that comes of transit-oriented development is mixed land use. Many current housing developments are far away from urban services and commercial activity. Neighbourhoods without commercial activity or high-quality public spaces force residents to travel in order to access the resources they need. Neighbourhoods that are more connected require fewer and shorter day trips. Transit-oriented development ensures that neighbourhoods are better connected, thereby reducing individual and public spending and guaranteeing a better quality of life.
Much of the Indian Railways’ move of allotting residential plots alongside the revamped railway stations, was motivated by the above considerations. But of course, another very crucial stake at hand was to make the scheme more commercially viable. One problem that arises when public transport is employed to serve sparsely populated regions across the city is that the services often become inefficient. The fares go up, as well as the costs of operating the system, and in the end, individuals opt for private transport. Establishing residences in and around the railway system is seen as an antidote to this issue.
Cons of transit-oriented development
The disadvantages of transit-oriented development are far less popularised but still very much existent. In cities where transit-oriented development has been implemented, it has been found that planners and developers often neglect nearby pedestrian access. This defeats the purpose of creating a walkable community. Thus, while an area claims to be an artefact of transit-oriented development, it actually is not so unless investment in other forms of infrastructure is procured. In fact, the erection of a transit station and ensuing development can make it even less walkable. If an area is not walkable, the area will not grow. If planners focused more on developing small-scale tactics such as with pedestrian accessibility, aesthetics, architectural design, and safety, more positives from transit-oriented development could follow.
A visionary step forward
Letting out land in and around the railway stations for residential purposes is a visionary step forward, as far as urban planning is concerned. Keeping up with the growing desire for quality urban lifestyle, growing desire for more walkable lifestyles away from traffic, perceptible disintegration in family structures (more singles, empty-nesters), transit-oriented development is a pro-environment answer to all of these social considerations. Thus, the drive towards transit-oriented development is not only palpable but necessary.
Featured image source Pexels
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