Indian Railways has chosen to develop CST – one of the targets of the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes – to meet international standards of security and infrastructure.
A senior official at the railway ministry says that AREP will be paid INR10 million ($199,840) to conduct the architectural and feasibility study for redesign and redevelopment of the terminus as a world class station. To be redesigned on public-private-partnership mode, AREP will suggest a new design for the station by the end of 2009.
The plan involves massive transformation with facilities like underground parking, better passenger amenities, food plazas and a separate terminal for arrival and departure, among others.
The Railways has identified 26 stations across the country, which will be developed as per international standards. Besides CST station, New Delhi, Howrah, Agra, Chennai Central, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mathura, Patna, Secunderabad and Thiruvananthapuram railway stations will also be developed.
While Hong Kong-based Terry Farrel has submitted a design for the New Delhi station, the Railways plan to seek Chinese help for the redevelopment of Bhubaneswar and Bangalore stations.
CST station was designed by Frederick William Stevens in 1887-88 and bears bears some resemblance to St Pancras station in London. It’s a classic example of the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, deriving influences from Indian, Islamic and British architectureal motifs. The wood carving, tiles, ornamental iron and brass railings, grills for the ticket offices, the balustrades for the grand staircases and other ornaments are the work of students at the Bombay School of Art.
In 1996, the station was renamed by the state government after Chhatrapati Shivaji, the Maratha king. On July 2, 2004, the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO nominated the station as a World Heritage Site.
