Railways to unlock land to generate over Rs 10,000 crore

NEW DELHI: The Railways plan to unlock around 300 hectares in Delhi, Patna, Howrah, Agra, Jaipur and Chennai railway stations and hope to generate over Rs 10,000 crore from their development. The Railways would unlock around 100 hectares in Delhi out of which around 20 hectares would be used for commercial development. The rest of 200 acres would be unlocked in the other cities.

“Works on Patna and New Delhi would start by March,” an official said. He said New Delhi station modernisation project could cost up to Rs 5,000 crore and big infrastructure players like DLF, ADAG, Tata and GMR are among the players that are in talks with the Railways for the contract. The Railways have appointed Hong Kong-based Terry Farrell and Partners as consultant for the architectural design for modernising New Delhi Railway station. Consultants for Patna railway station makeover is set to be finalised in a month.

“Delhi and Patna railway stations makeover is topmost priority for the Railways at the moment. The rest of cities would follow suit subsequently,” the official said.

The Railway land are likely to command a price of around Rs 30,000 per sq ft, akin to commercial real estate prices prevalent in Central Business District (CBD). Analysts said this could be largest A-grade real estate space available after completion.

The Railways are in talks with the urban development ministry for grant of an additional floor area ratio (FAR) of 1 against the permissible 1.5 on railway land. Apart for unlocking land in these cities, the Railways have also decided to exploit about 500 acres in Mumbai, which could also add significant moolah to its kitty. The Maharashtra government has agreed to grant Railways a floor space index of four in Mumbai against existing norm of 2.5.