BENGALURU: Yesvantpur Railway Station, which is the second busiest station in the South Western Railway’s jurisdiction, is slated for a makeover soon, with the division likely to award contracts for a redesign. However, according to regular users, it is the approach roads to the station, particularly to the back gate, through Yeshwantpur and Mathikere, that are the problem.
With an annual footfall of 89 lakh passengers, the station earns around Rs 370 crore in revenue for the railways, yearly. However, a combination of narrow lanes, lack of parking space and no platform ticket counters at the third entrance to the station have regular commuters complaining. According to railway officials, the station will soon get new infrastructure, including a new front facade.
“The approach road to the station, from the platform number six side has been in a bad condition since many years now. Requests to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) have gone unanswered as they say the road belongs to the railways,” said Bhavin Gandhi, a suburban rail supporter. He added that citizens had now decided to approach Member of Parliament PC Mohan to appeal to him to get the road repaired.
On the other side, the entrance to the station, from Mathikere, could be a great time-saver for passengers from north Bengaluru if the station approach was widened. “The approach to the third entrance narrows down to just 25 feet in some places where the railway quarters are located. If these could be shifted out, a lot of space for parking, an auto stand and a comfortable entry/exit approach could be made,” said Sanjeev Dyamanavvar, a member of civic advocacy group PRAJA-RAAG.
Users told us that getting to the station from the Mathikere side entrance is currently a huge issue. “There is no space to park vehicles, which basically means that those looking to use the station for short duration travel, cannot park on this side. Approaching it from the Tumakuru roadside when there is an easily approachable entry point, just eats into travel time. In addition, there are several street vendors who have set up shop at this entrance leading to several traffic snarls,” said Arvind T, a resident of Gokula Extension.
The foot-over bridge, which would connect the Namma Metro station to the railway station would also bring some relief to thousands of commuters who switch between the modes of transport daily. This is also expected to come up along with the station redevelopment.