Blocked platform at Chandigarh railway station leaves passengers harried

Passengers at Chandigarh railway station faced significant challenges in locating their trains on Friday due to closure of platform number 1, located right at the main entrance, until August 9 for installation of air concourses as part of the station’s redevelopment.

Until August 9, access to platforms through the Chandigarh side will remain unavailable. Thus, passengers have been advised to enter the station from the Panchkula side. Foot over bridge on the Chandigarh side has been completely closed.

The physical progress of the redevelopment project is around 67%. The major remaining task is the air concourse, which needed preparedness and various permissions. Now, the work of air concourse will be done by blocking the platforms one after the other.

To construct the air concourse spanning across the railway tracks, various trains have been temporarily cancelled and diverted via Ambala.

Train number 15011-15012 running between Lucknow and Chandigarh, 14630-14629 between Firozpur Cantt and Chandigarh, 12527-12528 between Ramnagar and Chandigarh, and 12242-12241 between Amritsar and Chandigarh will remain temporarily cancelled during this time.

Apart from this train number 15531-15532 running between Saharsa-Amritsar is diverted via Ambala Cantt, skipping stoppage at Chandigarh. Similarly, train number 12925-12926 running between Mumbai Central- Amritsar is also diverted via Ambala Cantt, skipping halt at Chandigarh and Mohali.

Manoj Kumar, a resident of Kurali, who arrived at the Chandigarh station to travel to Mumbai, said, “I was unaware that the train was diverted via Ambala Cantt. I missed the train and now I’m heading to Ambala by bus to catch another train.”

Similarly, Radhe Sham, a migrant labourer from Uttar Pradesh, arrived at the Chandigarh railway station with his wife and three children. “Upon reaching here, I found out that the Lucknow train has been cancelled,” he said.

Station authorities claimed they were making every effort to minimise inconvenience to passengers. Station superintendent JP Singh stated, “Marshals have been deployed to guide passengers. They can enter from the Panchkula side to proceed to various platforms.”

“The foot over bridge on the Chandigarh side is completely closed, while the one on the Panchkula side is open, allowing passengers access to the waiting area and food outlets at platform number 1,” he added.

The Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) has extended the completion deadline for the Chandigarh railway station redevelopment by three months after missing the May 31 deadline.

Initially, the revamped station was to be ready by April 10, 2024. The ongoing ₹462-crore project, awarded to M/s Ahluwalia Contracts in December 2022, had started in January 2023.

The completed work includes the construction of beams, columns and walls, among other structures. The remaining work includes the construction of an air concourse, four state-of-the-art foot over bridges, parking areas on Panchkula side, and a proper roof over the entire railway station.

The upgraded station will feature state-of-the-art lobbies, a food court, a paid lounge, an enquiry counter, office spaces and retail areas.

On the Panchkula side of the project, a large parking area spanning four acres is being constructed, along with at least nine commercial sites.

Chandigarh railway station, which serves the tricity of Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula, is part of the Northern Railways’ Ambala division.

The project, which authorities call a lighthouse project, will be a beacon for other stations across the Indian Railway network, which will be redeveloped along the same lines.