Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), formerly known as Victoria Terminus, is all set for a swanky makeover. According to a Hindustan Times report, the Central Railway (CR) will finalise a contractor in April to start the work.CSMT will be the first railway station in the country which will undergo complete redevelopment. As part of the revamp, the heritage station will get a spacious roof plaza, facilities such as a food court, waiting lounge, children’s play area, designated space for local products, etc. CR has already begun preparatory works for the mega revamp of the CSMT railway station. Earlier this month, four companies – Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Afcons Infrastructure, Ahluwalia Contracts, and Nagarjuna Construction - had submitted technical bids for the ₹1,813 crore redevelopment project for CSMT station.
This redevelopment has been planned with a view to decongesting the southern heritage node of the terminus, augmentation of facilities, better multimodal integration and conserving and restoring the world-famous iconic structure to its past glory. The railways are planning to convert CSMT into a large mass transit hub called rail-o-polis. In the grand scheme of things as it shall be made into a point of conjunction for various modes of public transit. It will hold residential and commercial offices with a built-up area of 2.54 lakh sq mts. The suburban rail line at CSMT is likely to be joined by subways and FOBs to connect it with Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro 3 and Wadala-CSMT Metro-11 as well. The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has called for bids to redevelop the iconic Mumbai station. The redevelopment of CSMT will be carried out using a hybrid annuity model, in which the railways will initially invest 40% of the cost and the developer will invest the remainder. The cabinet had in September 2022 approved the redevelopment proposals for three major railway stations - New Delhi Railway Station, Ahmedabad Railway Station, and CSMT, at an estimated cost of ₹10,000 crore. The targeted timeline for completion of the project is around four years as CSMT is one of the busiest railway stations in the county. CSMT is one of the oldest railway stations in the country and has 18 platforms, of which seven are for suburban services and the rest for long-distance train operations. As per railway officials, the current daily average footfall is nearly 11 lakh.