Suresh Prabhu calls for expediting Mumbai stations redevelopment work

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday directed the officials to fast-track the work on redeveloping five stations in the Mumbai metropolitan region.
Prabhu, who was in the city, held a meeting with the officials to review the progress of station redevelopment. The Station Redevelopment Programme project entails improvement of passenger amenities at railway stations and commercial exploitation of land around them.

Among the 400 stations identified for the project across the country, five in Mumbai- Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Thane, Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus and Borivali- will see redevelopment. General Manager of Western Railway A K Gupta, General Manager of Central Railway D K Sharma and CMD of Mumbai
Railway Vikas Corporation Ltd (MRVC) Prabhat Sahai along with senior Railway Board and other officers attended the meeting. Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar also present.

During the meeting, Prabhu instructed the officials to put the work of redevelopment of the selected five stations on the fast track, a statement issued by the Western Railway (WR) said. The minister also suggested seeking partnerships with local authorities like the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to expedite the process. Prabhu emphasised that the state and central infrastructure PSUs could be considered as strategic partners
to expedite the station redevelopment work, the statement said.

"The Indian Railways will save Rs 3,000 crore in 10 years through rain water harvesting, restoration of old water bodies, water recycling etc," the statement quoted Prabhu as saying. He emphasised increasing the use of bamboo furniture to reduce deforestation and for the upliftment of tribals. During the meet, Mungantiwar, who is also the state's forest minister, said the state government will provide saplings to the Railways to curb pollution.

The Maharashtra minister said that joint nurseries are planned to be opened with the tie-up of Railways, the state government and the World Wide Fund (WWF) to promote green initiatives.