Strategies for redevelopment around station Areas : a case of Bhopal railway station

Abstract

Railway stations and their surroundings are generally identified as having concentration of redevelopment possibilities. The attractiveness of stations may not be explained only by the recognition of its architectural values but also by their growing use as integrated transit centers with varied developments. As per Bertolini, station not only acts as a terminal or a node in the city, rather it is also a place in the city. A way of addressing the future of mobility in the station areas consists in analyzing firstly, the way by which intermodality reshapes the place along with the traveler’s experience at the same time. Hence, it is required to focus on the management of station as a node of transport, as well as a place in the city. Thus, they should have multifunctional use associated with it which may serve the needs of residents residing within the area and also of the adjacent neighborhoods surrounding it. In the current situation, due to multiplicity of actors involved in this task of redevelopment in such areas, it has become cumbersome as well as tend to get neglected resulting in downfall of the area. It incorporates four distinct sets of entities – the city and state government, the Railways, private land owners and varying stakeholders within the area. Beneficiaries also play an important role in the task. In present situations, it has led the station areas to have become inadequate for mobility, marginal to urban fabric, unattractive, economic and environmental burdens at several scales, here in most case, such areas require measures for improvement. Station areas can be of varied types: Metro stations, Light Rail transit stations, Bus Rapid Transit stations, Railway or the High speed Rail stations. In Indian context, High speed railways do not exist but railways are there covering the length and breadth of the country. Though there are various types of transport terminals and stations, railway stations have different characteristics from the rest. Since, these are involved in a lot of intercity travel and some big cities attract a large number of commuters from satellite towns nearby, these have more inclination towards being a commercial center with large number of retail, lodging, and office spaces over residential in its immediate surroundings. The price of land in core area near railway stations is generally in higherStrategies for Redevelopment around Station Areas – Case of Bhopal Railway Station range and railways usually owns large parcels of land in areas surrounding the railway stations. Planned approach in such areas, considering land as an effective resource for financial gains, can help to generate revenues to finance railway investments along with benefitting the government, betterment of the people and decongestion in the area. Steps have been initiated by the railway authority through Railway land Development Authority (RLDA) and Indian railways station development corporation (IRSDC) to have a planned approach regarding this subject, to gain revenue by leasing out its land to real estate developers. The study’s main aim is to guide the developments in such areas through references of similar strategies and lessons learnt from successful case examples of best practices and studies elsewhere. The study has been done majorly in three sections, firstly regarding the development around the station areas, secondly the transport integration problems of the station with the city transportation network and thirdly the prevailing institutional setup, with varying scope and limitations for each. Recommendations and improvisation measures through lessons learnt from various case studies has been suggested for all the three. The study has been taken up in the oldest part of Bhopal city around the main railway junction station. The area has low height, old and dilapidated structures, traffic congestion and in some instances encroachment and requires redevelopment. The report has been divided broadly into 5 sections with various sub sections within it. Chapter one gives a brief background of the study, identifies the problem and establishes the need to carry out the study. It states the aim, objectives, methodology adopted, scope, limitations of the study and the expected outcome from the study. Chapter two describes various concepts, approaches, and models followed elsewhere to carry out such developments followed by case studies. It introduces the various approaches such as the Rail + property development, Node place analysis, Product mix, zoning regulations etc. which have been followed elsewhere to identify the relationship between transportation networks and urban morphology, to understand the development potential in any area primarily in the station areas to balance the node and place functions of the station areas and how the same help in generatingStrategies for Redevelopment around Station Areas – Case of Bhopal Railway Station xiii revenue. The same chapter also describes the initiatives taken up in India in the same direction. The chapter explains the approaches through various case studies where it has been adopted and implemented. Chapter three introduces the study area with a brief outline of the city, stating its physical characteristics and demographic trend followed by study area delineation and description of characteristics of the study area. Chapter four gives the outline of Data required for the study and collection process followed by data analysis. The analysis to bring out the issues and opportunities has been carried out in three sections – first dealing with the detailing of the existing spatial development, second traffic and transportation conditions and third the institutional setup. Chapter five and the last chapter deals with the proposals and recommendations for the study area drawing from the strategies and lessons learnt from various development schemes referred in chapter two. It defines the recommendations in the same order for the three sections as defined above. Development status has been talked about in terms of additional space that can be created through nominal FAR utilization and expressed through generating scenarios. The task has been carried out for a small patch within the study area giving the idea of how and what kind of developments can come up within the area. It also defines the site level strategies for the complete study area at various patches based upon the requirement. Improvement strategies for traffic and transportation issues have been suggested through studies of best practices adopted elsewhere for the similar issues that have been identified in the area and further measures that can be incorporated within the study area. For the institutional set up, suggestions have been stated based on the lessons learnt from the cases where the approaches have been successfully implemented. Suggestions which can be incorporated within Indian context to join the missing links of interaction within various implementing bodies for the process of development around such areas has been tried to be shown. The major outcomes of study are: a] comparative study of various approaches for redevelopment around station area, b] measures for decongestion within the study area to integrate station network well with the city transportation network and institutional and regulatory framework which makes redevelopment interactive in such areas.