Railway Board Chairman's inspection at Visvesvaraya Terminal ahead of inauguration
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Bengaluru: Railway Board Chairman (RBC) Suneet Sharma inspected Sir M Visvesvaraya railway terminal- India's first-ever air-conditioned railway terminal- ahead of its inauguration on Sunday. The terminal is located at Byappanahalli in the eastern suburbs of the city.
"The country's first air-conditioned terminal is the best station, as it has come up well. As the third terminal in this tech city, it is essential to meet the demand, which is set to grow in the post-Covid phase," Sharma told media persons after the inspection.
The Chairman opined that the South Western Railway zone in Karnataka deserves appreciation for building the terminal on airport standards to handle greater mobility. The terminal, built at the cost of Rs 314 crore, is burdened with the decongestion of Krantiveera Sangoli Rayanna (KSR) central station in the city centre and Yesvantpur station in the city's northern suburb.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the terminal virtually, which will then initiate commercial operations here. The zonal railway is looking forward to the inauguration so that services could be scaled up in the post-pandemic period.
"With hi-tech facilities and user-friendly amenities, the sprawling terminal has seven platforms, lifts, escalators and ramps for safe movement of passengers," said Sharma, who is also the Indian Railways chief executive.
Long-distance passengers could use the metro lines as they are adjacent to Bengaluru city, Yeshvantpur and Byappanahalli railway stations. This could help them to commute faster.
Ashok Kumar Verma, Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru, told the media that an agency was approached regarding the air-conditioned terminal's maintenance and cleanliness. The station will be maintained to metro station standards in cleanliness.
Sharma also visited the state-run Rail Wheel factory at Yelahanka and held a meeting with the zonal officials.
Railway had suspended all passenger, mail and express trains a year ago due to the pandemic onslaught. It has been operating some special trains to other cities on a need basis since.