In order to ‘gather revenue using existing station infrastructure’, Indian Railways is contemplating the idea of setting up a Station Authority of India along the lines of Airport Authority of India, which is responsible for developing airports across the country.
The idea was put forward by the Indian Railway Minister, Dinesh Trivedi at the recent International Railways Equipment Exhibition (IREE).
The new station body will ‘commercially exploit stations and earn revenue’.
At many stations, acres of land is left unused and could be utilised for developing better infrastructure for passengers, which could include shopping complexes, libraries and commercial office spaces.
Speaking at the event, the minister said:
“We can have a Station Authority of India like Airport Authority of India (AAI). We have not exploited the stations at all. We can have multiplexes, shopping complexes, libraries, parking lots and offices at stations.”
Emphasising on the need of the private participation in Railways, Trivedi said:
“We cannot modernise railways without private participation help.
“We will not achieve 8% GDP growth unless Indian Railways grows by 10 to 12%. Modernisation of signalling system, track, stations and freight terminals are the need of the hour. We have to redefine railways with a modernisation plan.”
Across the country, there are more than 7,000 railway stations which can be exploited commercially and can ‘generate huge revenue for Indian Railways’.
