Katpadi Junction is all set for major upgradation under the flagship ‘Station Redevelopment Scheme’. Rs.329 Crore contract awarded with 36 months deadline for completion.
More Details:
- Katpadi Junction, one of the busiest railheads in Tamil Nadu, is being redeveloped by Southern Railway. It is located on the Chennai – Bengaluru corridor with proximity to Vellore Town and major landmarks like the historic Vellore Fort, CMC Hospital, VIT University and Golden Temple.
- Witnessing an average count of 37595 passengers per day, Katpadi Junction has been categorised as NSG2/A railway station.
Award of Contract:
- The work of “Re-development of Katpadi Junction station” was awarded as EPC contract to M/s Engineering Projects India Ltd., Chennai for an amount of 329.32 Crore of 22-09-2022.
- The Project Management Services for the subject work was awarded to M/s Voyants Solution Private Limited, Gurgaon on 22.11.2022 for an amount of 7.89 Crs. The completion period of the project is 36 months.
Scope of Katpadi Junction Redevelopment Work:
- The Project is planned for development of the Southern side and Northern side of the existing station. The existing station building will be demolished in II-stages duly shifting the existing facilities to new buildings. On the Southern side, a separate Arrival terminal and a Departure Terminal will be constructed for segregation of inward and outward passengers.
- A North terminal with forecourt will be built on the Northern side. The architecture of the terminals & buildings will reflect contemporary adaptation of the traditional architecture of Katpadi-Vellore fort city.
Departure terminal:
- The proposed Departure terminal building on the southern side will be G+4+Mezzanine structure to be built up to world class standards. The proposed built-up area is 10,250 sqm.
- The ground floor provides space for passenger circulation along with facilities like Departure Lobby, help desk, AC waiting Hall, Booking & ticketing offices with sufficient Escalators, lifts to access top floor while the mezzanine floor will house Retiring rooms. The first floor will accommodate the AC & Non-AC Waiting Area, Cloak Room and railway offices.
- The second floor of the Departure terminal building is proposed to be equipped with Ladies Reserved Waiting Area, Non-AC Waiting Area, Baby Care, and Commercial Area and Third & fourth floors will be dedicated for commercial development.
Arrival Terminal:
- The proposed Arrival Terminal building on the southern side will be G+4+Mezzanine proposed to be built-up in an area of 10,250 sqm.
- The ground floor provides space for passenger circulation, help desk, tourist kiosk, cloak room along with various railways offices, Child Care etc. with sufficient escalators, lifts whereas the mezzanine floor of the building will house Railway offices.
- The first floor is planned to accommodate various railway offices while the second, third & fourth floor of the Arrival terminal building is proposed for commercial activity (air space commercial development).
- For the better connectivity of both the Arrival & Departure terminal buildings, two Subways are planned on either side of the terminals.
Air Concourses:
- The proposed 2 numbers of Air Concourses are designed to segregate the Arrival & Departure traffic. Arrival air concourse will provide connectivity from Arrival terminal building to all platforms and north terminal building.
- Whereas Departure air concourse will provide connectivity from Departure terminal building to all platforms and north side forecourt building. For easy accessibility to respective platforms, sufficient numbers of escalators, lifts and staircases to each platform are being provided.
- The concourses will provide connectivity between the two terminal buildings facilitating seamless movement of passengers. The concourses are designed to accommodate the passenger amenities, waiting area from where passengers would have visibility towards platforms.
North Terminal & Forecourt:
- The North terminal building is a G only structure with an area of 600 sq.m. Ground floor mainly accommodates functions such as the ticket counter, departure lobby for passengers entering from the Northern side etc.
- The North side forecourt building is a G only structure with an area of 300 sq.m. This building is mainly for passengers taking exit from the Northern side etc. The Northern side also has dedicated pick up points with lanes dedicated for easy taxi and four-wheeler movement.
Multi-level Car Parking:
- It is proposed to construct Multi-Level Car Parking (MLCP), which will be a G+6 structure having a total built-up area of 9250 sq.m. There will be a parking facility for 258 cars and 2120 Two-wheelers.
- The circulating area at Departure Terminal Building will have a wide road with access to Multi Level Car Parking. The entry and exit roads are planned with drop off, drop-in, pick-up points etc for free movement of vehicles, pedestrians.
Works executed so far:
- Topographical, Traffic, GPS Surveys have been completed.
- All the mandatory clearances were taken
- Right of Way for the EPC contractor was provided for the Phase-I work.
- Master plan validation has been completed
- Ready-mix concrete (RMC) Plant foundation, columns completed
- Samples for material testing collected
- Air monitoring work is in progress at site.
- Efforts on to built the station in accordance with GRIHA green building rating standards
- Inventory for trees and buildings completed.
- Fabrication of barricades and sign boards completed.
- EPC Contractor office container erected at site.
- Series of meetings are held with the stakeholders of the project
Work in progress:
- Lab and Mess Building Brick Wall work in process.
- Preliminary design submission for Phase-I works in progress.
- PMS building foundation work completed, plinth beam excavation is in progress.
- Silo excavation for material storage in process.
- Site cleaning work is in progress.
- Samples for material testing collected.
Source: Southern Railway- Press Release | Images Credit: Southern Railway
