The Indian Railways is one of the busiest modes of transport in the world, with an average daily ridership of around 20 million at present. From the point of view of passenger amenities the heart of any railway system resides in its stations. In India the stations are in deplorable condition. There is a need to redevelop the railway stations in order to bring them up to international standards and provide desired level of comfort and convenience to passengers. Also stations are de-facto multi-modal hubs but there is lack of modal and spatial integration in the station influence zone in Indian context. To address this problem on urgent basis Government of India has taken up a proposal in July 2015 to redevelop about 400 railways stations in metros and major cities besides pilgrim centers and tourist spots. The School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Bhopal, an autonomous institution of Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Government of India, is committed to take up planning and design challenges in line with the Government’s vision. Accordingly the school proposes to conduct its integral studio exercise on ‘Redevelopment of Railway Stations - Bhopal, Habibganj and Bairagarh’, focusing on spatio-economic planning and design aspects.

As announced in the Rail Budget 2015-16, Ministry of Railways has proposed to offer stations for redevelopment on as is where is basis, by inviting open bids from interested parties with their designs and business ideas duly providing for amenities and other requirements of the Railways. As mentioned by Hon’ble Railways Minister during recent Budget speech in Parliament, Habibganj would be the first station in the country to be redeveloped into a world class station.

The redevelopment of railway stations will primarily consist of upgrading the level of passenger amenities by new constructions/renovations and include redevelopment of station buildings, platform surfaces, circulating area etc., to better serve the needs of the passengers.

In Bhopal city there are three railway stations with different passenger handling capacity. Bhopal Junction is one of the major railway stations in West Central Railway. It was constructed in year 1910 and presently around 200 express and 13 passenger trains pass through it daily. Habibganj, the second station for Bhopal became operational in late seventies. It is now the originating and terminating point of a number of passenger and express trains including Bhopal Shatabdi. Government of Madhya Pradesh is currently in the process of preparing Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Policy and is considering Habibganj railway station as the focal point for one such TOD project. Bairagarh, the third station of Bhopal, located in the outer fringes of the city, is also a halting station for many important express trains travelling towards Western India.

The integral studios are conducted at SPA Bhopal to encourage students to interact vertically and horizontally within a programme and with other programmes offered at the school. The students make interclass multi-disciplinary teams to work on a project. In order to cater to the vision of Government of India, the 10 days intense integral studio would be conducted (July 16th to 25th, 2016) with station redevelopment focus.

The objectives of the studio include:

• To analyze the existing developmental status, circulation pattern and integration challenges within TOD influence zone.
• To identify the challenges faced by passengers in railway stations.
• To redevelop the existing railway stations and plan for transport integration, services etc. within TOD influence zone.

The problem is proposed to be addressed at two levels: a) TOD influence zone, and b) station area.

Within the TOD influence zone, the scope of the studio shall include the following:

• Integration with other modes of public/private transport systems e.g. Bus, proposed Metro etc.
• Provision of parking and park-and-ride facilities.
• Space allocation for commercial and office space and other services and amenities.
• Exploring the possibility of redensification outside station area but within TOD influence zone.

Within the Station Area, the scope of the studio shall include the following:

•  Redevelopment of station into an iconic Green Building with state-of-the-art facilities.
• Planning for future expansion of platforms.
• Ensuring segregation of arrival/departure of passengers and congestion-free non-conflicting entry/exit to the station premises.
• Provision of space for all essential facilities at concourse, like food court, shopping plaza, medical facilities, lounge, etc.
• Provision of user-friendly amenities and facilities as per universal design guidelines.
• Planning for modern utilities and services.

Track, signaling etc. shall not be included in the scope of the studio. The scope of work under the present studio shall be limited to passenger amenities only.