- The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
has conducted detailed pre-feasibility studies for setting up Inter Modal Stations (IMS) at Nagpur and Varanasi, and the development of DPRs for this is in final stages of completion. - 15 cities for IMS: 15 cities across the country have been prioritized for development of IMS of which Nagpur and Varanasi have been selected as pilot projects.
- What are Inter Modal Stations: IMS 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 vehiclesetc, so that people can move from one mode to another seamlessly, with minimum use of automobiles.
- Why: In most cities today, transport hubs like bus terminals, railway stations and others are located far from each other, so inter-modal transfers create pressure on the already congested roads. By bringing the different transport modes at one point, IMS will reduce congestion on roads and also vehicular pollution.
- Apart from reducing congestion on roads, IMS will also aid in city decongestion by encouraging the use of public transportation and by effectively using ring roads and National Highways for entry and evacuation of inter-city bus traffic.
- Planning: Inter-modal 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.
- Multiple benefits: Multiple benefits exist in developing inter-modal stations over standalone terminals:
- Aggregated footfall: Inter-modal stations witness higher footfall than disaggregated transport terminals
- Improved passenger experience: Facilities are better managed due to collaboration of multiple entities and commercial development is driven by aggregated footfalls. In addition, passengers do not need to spend time and money to transit between terminals.
- Sharing of resources: Shared infrastructure like FOBs, waiting rooms, concourses, public conveniences leads to reduced investment and land requirement. This lowers the investment requirements while increasing the overall synergies in the system
- Development of inter-modal stations will also give a boost to commercial development and economic activity in cities, which can significantly alter the socio-economic profile of the development area.
- Implementation: The implementation and operation of the IMS will be done by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) between Ministry of Road Transport & Highways through National Highways Authority of India , Ministry of Railways and respective State Governments.
- Members of the SPV will provide paid up capital or land as part of their equity contribution to the SPV. MoRTH / 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. Indian Railways / 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.
- Ajni and Kashi selected: Nagpur and VaranasiFor the pilot project, the satellite railways stations at Ajni in Nagpur and Kashi in Varanasi have been selected for development of IMS.
