Redevelopment of Nagpur’s Ajni railway station on track, project to be commissioned before schedule

New Delhi [India], July 13 (ANI): The redevelopment of Ajni railway station in Maharashtra’s Nagpur is set to be commissioned four months before schedule. The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), a statutory authority under the Ministry of Railways, is making significant progress in the upgradation of Ajni Railway Station.

AJNI station, acting as a satellite station for Nagpur, is an important station for the Nagpur Division of the Central Railway.

According to RLDA, this project aims to provide the best facilities to passengers, featuring a modern design that includes green building concepts and Divyangjan-friendly amenities. Despite the challenges of being a brownfield project, all preparatory works and utility shifting at the site have been completed.

“Construction on both the eastern and western sides of the station is progressing as planned. The project is set to be completed four months ahead of its scheduled date as per the EPC contract,” the RLDA said in a release on Friday.

Key features of the redeveloped station include passenger capacity: The redeveloped Ajni Station is planned to accommodate 45,000 passengers daily.

Arrival and Departure Plazas: There will be two dedicated FOBs (10 m wide each) for arriving passengers, connected with Arrival Lobbies on either side of the station. These FOBs and the concourse with Roof Plaza (72 m wide connected with 18 m wide Central FOB with provision of Travellators) will connect each platform via escalators, lifts, and staircases. On the west side, a departure and arrival plaza (G+2) with 3,679 sqm surface parking and a circulating area will include drop-off and pick-up zones to facilitate Taxis, Cars, and Autos smooth movement. The east side will feature a station building (G+3) with 19,162 sqm of surface parking and a circulating area with drop-off and Pickup zones, ensuring smooth traffic flow on both sides of the station.

As far as construction progress is concerned in the East Side building (G+3) Existing utilities, including D-type quarters, have been dismantled to make way for new construction. The RCC framed structured G+3 station building construction work reached to Third floor level. Blockwork and finishing work are in progress. The construction of two towers of Type IV quarters (Stilt+7), and framed structures have been completed and finishing work is in progress. These quarters will accommodate occupants from the demolished quarters.

In the West Side Building (G+2), To avoid disruption of passenger movement, a temporary station building has been constructed, and the parking area has been extended towards the Road Over Bridge (ROB) side. By deploying manpower and machinery day and night, 85% of the piling work is completed and pile cap work is in progress.

Regarding platform work, Existing Cover Over Platforms (COP) and escalators near the north Foot Over Bridge (FOB) at the Nagpur end of Platform 1 have been dismantled to facilitate piling work and movement of construction equipment. Hard barricading work has been done, and safety marshals have been deputed to ensure the safe movement of passengers.

The Ajni Railway Station redevelopment project follows a phased approach to minimize disruption to train operations and passenger movement. Initially, the existing west side building offices are relocated, followed by starting of foundational work after dismantling the existing station building, ensuring protection with hard barricading. The construction sequence involves the construction of the East side station building and air concourse with the Roof Plaza and FOBs, followed by the west side building due to limited space and size restrictions.

Foundational work for the North FOB, South FOB, Air Concourse, and Central FOB is progressing steadily, with 58 per cent progress achieved. Additional work on Platform 2/3 will commence shortly, coordinated to avoid passenger inconvenience. With a project cost of Rs. 297 crore, the redevelopment is currently at 30 per cent physical progress and is set to be completed in Jan 2026, 4 months ahead of schedule.

Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) is a statutory authority under the Ministry of Railways for the development of Railway land. RLDA is currently developing 15 railway stations across India, including flagship station redevelopments such as New Delhi Railway Station, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) Railway Station, Ahmedabad Railway Station and Chandigarh Railway Station.