Redevelopment of Nellore Railway Station starts finally

TIRUPATI: The ambitious ₹102 crore project to redevelop Nellore Railway Station has finally started. The entire work is expected to be completed within the next 21 months.

Union Ministry of Railways has initiated a “Redevelopment of Railway Stations” project to provide world class amenities for rail passengers within India. As part of it, South Central Railway (SCR) has taken up major upgradation of Nellore station.

The redevelopment is being carried out under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract. The contractor holds the responsibility for designing, procuring, constructing, commissioning and handing over the project. The contract has gone to SCL Infratech Ltd. of Hyderabad. The project is expected to be completed by May 2024.

Nellore Railway Station is along the important Grand Trunk route. The city witnesses a large number of rail passengers travelling for educational, pilgrimage and commercial purposes. Presently, the station has a footfall of around 30,000 passengers, which is likely to go up further. Keeping in view these factors, Nellore Railway Station has been included in the list of stations being upgraded under EPC mode for handling the current as well as future passenger traffic.

According to SCR general manager Arun Kumar Jain, they will be monitoring upgrading works at Nellore Railway Station at every stage till the project is completed within the scheduled targeted time.

Arun Kumar disclosed that site offices, concrete lab and storage sheds have been built, so that construction work can start. Design of the proposed East side station building has been submitted to IIT Madras for checking. Survey of the entire station premises and geological investigations, including soil testing, water table position and standard bearing capacity tests, have been completed.

The general manager said to ensure that proceedings of the court on station premises do not get disturbed, a temporary court has been set up. In addition, marking has been done for construction of the permanent court building.

Construction of four pedestals for Cover Over Platforms (COPs) on Platform No.1 has been completed. Fabrication of COP shelters is in progress.