National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has floated the tender for phase I of intermodal station (IMS) at Ajni. The cost of the project is Rs 1,053.38 crore. It has to be completed in 2.5 years and the contractor will have to maintain the facility for ten years.
The bhoomipujan of the project was performed by union transport minister Nitin Gadkari in March 2019. After the bhoomipujan, NHAI had to get its design approved by Central Railway (CR) on whose land the project will come up. The tender was floated after all the formalities were over.
The Intermodal Station will facilitate amalgamation of all modes of public transport under one roof. IMS Ajni will have connectivity between long distance buses, city buses, railways, Metro and indirect link with the city airport.
The IMS will have facilities like parking for long distance buses and it will act as a departure and arrival point for private buses. City buses will stop at IMS. When the IMS is ready, railways will be asked to convert Ajni into the main railway station of the city.
Nagpur Metro’s Congress Nagar station will be connected to the IMS with a foot overbridge (FOB). Commuters will be able to reach the city airport directly by boarding the Metro at Congress Nagar station.
The Awardee contractor will build the main IMS building, a new railway station building, FOBs, subways, internal roads, new railway quarters, etc. IMS is coming up on Central Railway land and some railway quarters will have to be demolished. NHAI will build new quarters in lieu of these.
The railway amenities include ticket counters, toilets, waiting room for 1,600 passengers, cloak room, VIP room, parcel office, 12 retail shops, etc. Four extra railway platforms will also be built at Ajni. The main building will be connected to Ajni railway station by FOB.
IMS will also feature parking space for 590 cars in the main building. The ground floor is reserved for arrivals and first floor for departures. The second floor will have ticket counters, food court, restaurants, hotels and lounges.
There would be 40 bus bays while 28 would be idle. The bus station will have waiting room for 1,600 people, 80 bus bays, 10 retail shops, etc. The facility is expected to handle 3 lakh passengers per day by 2050.