The Yeshwantpur railway station is all set to get a swanky makeover with upgraded passenger facilities and will also be connected to the Metro station with a foot overbridge (FOB) in the next five months. The project is estimated to cost about Rs 15 crore.
Senior railway officials said the contract for the redevelopment project will be awarded next week and they have fixed March as deadline its for completion, including Metro FOB. Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru, R S Saxena confirmed the project but said he did not have details.
A senior official working on the project explained: “Inside the station, a new waiting hall, escalator for platform 6 and widening of the foot overbridge towards Tumakuru side by an additional five metres has been planned.”
Outside, six vertically large open structures with a front facade will give a new look to the station. The vacant land belonging to railways will be developed commercially to maximise its potential.
South Western Railway’s second busiest station, Yeshwantpur sees an annual footfall of 89 lakh passengers and earns Rs 367.90 crore.
More importantly, the project will finally include the foot overbridge connecting the railway station with Yeshwantpur Metro station. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL), which had delayed construction of the bridge for nearly three years after the station became operational, had recently met
railway officials to start work on the project.
The railways have taken an initiative to provide the bridge as part of the station redevelopment project, which will help about 8,000 people who switch between the Metro and railway station everyday. The Metro station sees a ridership between 15,000 and 20,000 (both entry and exit) and about half of them are railway passengers.
Asked about cost sharing, the railway official said they will discuss it with BMRCL. “The railways have taken the initiative to help passengers. We have held discussions with BMRCL on connecting the station with the existing FOB,” he said.