NEW DELHI: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has conducted detailed pre-feasibility studies for setting up Intermodal Stations at Nagpur and Varanasi, and the development of DPRs for this is in final stages of completion.
Intermodal Stations are terminal infrastructure which integrate various transportation modes like rail, road, mass rapid transit system, bus rapid transit,inland waterways , auto-rickshaws, taxis and private vehicles etc, so that people can move from one mode to another seamlessly, with minimum use of automobiles.
Fifteen cities are being selected for development of intermodal stations, of which Nagpur and Varanasi have been selected as pilot projects.
IMS will reduce congestion on roads and also vehicular pollution by bringing the different transport modes at one point.
An Official said ,”Intermodal Stations are being planned in an integrated manner along with road network development through new connecting roads, bridges, flyovers etc. The stations will cater to passenger volumes for the next 30 years and will have world-class amenities like FOBs with travellators, subways, common waiting rooms, clean toilets and restrooms, integrated public information systems, modern fire-fighting and emergency response services, convenience stores, lifts and escalators, adequate circulation space and commercial establishments.”
NHAI will fund the construction of the terminal infrastructure including railway infrastructure, ISBT, common areas (concourse, waiting rooms, transport retail), parking and other station facilities. State Government will provide the land for construction of the IMS. Construction and O&M will be bid out to a private concessionaire on a hybrid annuity model (HAM). The commercial development rights will be bid out on a PPP mode, post commencement of operations of the IMS.
The returns from commercial development will be used to recover the construction costs.