Concrete Thoughts

The Railway Revolution

For a country as vast as India, connecting every city and state is a large task. This task for decades has been fulfilled by the robust and vast network of railways. Divided into 16 zones, it is the fourth largest  railway network in the world and is used extensively for both business and leisure travel.

Pic courtesy: Indian Express

During the 2015-16 budget the Indian government had announced that railway stations will be upgraded in association with private firms. The announcement meant that a little over 1200 stations have been identified for up gradation, however in the first phase 400 A and A-1 category stations have been identified to be redeveloped. In this scheme the entire cost of the station redevelopment is to be met by leveraging commercial development of spare railway land/air space in and around the station.

This is one of the largest redevelopment projects any Indian, publicly owned sector has taken on and is highly anticipated. At present the, 400 stations selected are the highest in terms of both international and domestic tourism.

Pic Courtesy: trak.in

The construction fraternity, especially contractors are excited, as this opens up one of the largest and most prestigious channels of construction. This event, brings in opportunities for local and international brands to explore solutions and technologies, that are unique, recent and revolutionary. Understanding that railway across the globe, and even more so in India, has very specific needs, niche products will have higher demand and this may trickle down to the infrastructure industry, which is more open and accepting to newer technology.
The industry is also excited to see, how the structures in close proximity to the stations will be affected, and will it be a new opportunity for more development. It is time to watch as this phenomenal development takes stride.