Smt. Darshana Jardosh – Hon’ble Minister of State for Railways & Textiles inaugurated several facilities on Thursday, 14th October, 2021 in a function held at Surat station. Hon’ble Mayor Smt. Hemali Boghawala, Hon’ble MP Shri Prabhubhai Vasava and Hon’ble MLA Shri Pravinbhai Ghoghari, other distinguished guests including Shri G.V.L. Satyakumar – Divisional Railway Manager of Mumbai Division of WR & various senior railway officers were also present.
- According to a press release issued by Shri Sumit Thakur – inaugurations.
- Hon’ble MoSR Smt. Darshana Jardosh unveiled the plaque & inaugurated the heritage locomotive and selfie point at Surat station along with other dignitaries.
- Hon’ble MoSR then inaugurated the CCTV Surveillance System control room, the Coach Guidance System and the VIP Room at Surat station.
- In her address, Hon’ble MoSR shared her vision for Surat and welcomed the new and positive changes that the Railways is bringing to the area.
- She emphasized that Surat is the second highest passenger revenue earning station of Mumbai Division of WR and that it holds a strategic position on the Mumbai-Delhi connectivity line, which is frequented by businessmen.
Vintage Locomotive Pedestal and Selfie Point in Circulating Area:
- With a view to revisit the heritage past of the Railways in the city, a vintage locomotive has been placed on pedestal in the circulating area & a Selfie Point to uphold the dynamic nature of the city.
- The Diesel Locomotive manufactured by Chittaranjan Locomotive Workshop, Bardhaman & commissioned on 28th Sept, 1992 at Diesel Shed Bandra.
- The loco was retired on 5th January 2015 after 24 years of excellent service in Western Railway.
- This selfie point will be an added attraction to the bustling city & will enable the public as well as railway passengers to find moments of cheer and pride.
- This duo combination has uplifted the face of circulating area.
Integrated Security System (CCTV Control Room and Surveillance Cameras):
- Taking into cognizance the amount of passenger footfall at Surat station and to enhance the safety and security of passengers, a new Integrated Security Control Room with modern amenities was a must at Surat station.
- To fulfill this requirement, High-tech cameras were planned to be installed throughout station premises to cover all areas of the station 24×7.
- The work was undertaken on war-footing at a cost of Rs. 1.2 crores and has been completed. 86 cameras will be covering the entire Surat station, with 68 cameras having already been installed and functional and the rest will be connected very soon.
- 3 types of High-Quality cameras i.e., PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom); 4K cameras (Very High-quality images for Face Recognition) and FHD (Full HD cameras) have been used for better monitoring of the station premises.
- The Face Recognition System shall work on real time and offline mode.
- The system shall have the provision to take multiple samples of same face belonging to same person.
Provision of Advanced Passenger Coach Guidance System:
- With the inauguration of the Coach Guidance System, all coach indicators and announcement systems of Platform No. 1, 2 & 3 have been updated and provided with the latest internet based Coach Position feeding, display and automatic announcement system.
- The system has been installed at a cost of Rs. 36 lakhs.
Redeveloped & Upgraded VIP Room:
- The old VIP room at Surat station has been redeveloped & upgraded.
- The area of the VIP room has been increased with a capacity to hold meetings with more than 25 people at any given time.
- Shri Thakur further added that Hon’ble MoSR also interacted with a visually impaired announcer Shri Virendra Chahwala.
- She interacted with press media persons and the general public.
- With the inauguration of various facilities for the benefit of passengers, Surat station is set for a new aesthetic and hi-tech look.
Source: Western Railway-Press Release
