In an effort to provide better amenities to passengers at railway stations, Central Railway and Western Railway have identified 11 new pay-and-park stands for two-wheelers and cars in the Mumbai division. These stands, according to officials, will not only increase revenue, but also protect the spaces from falling into wrong hands or being misused. As per rules, Railways let the spaces adjacent to stations to private contractors and earn crores of rupees as licence fees from them.
On the WR line, Dadar, Bhayander, Borivali and Bandra Terminus have been identified as stations where pay-and-park facilities will come up. According to information obtained from a WR official, these pay-and-park stands would accommodate up to 2,000 vehicles and Mumbai division of WR can easily earn over `30 lakh per annum. According to Ity Pandey, senior divisional commercial manager of Mumbai division, WR, “Many passengers come to railway stations on their own bikes or vehicles and need accommodation for them. This idea has benefited everyone.” WR did a survey to fix the rate for using the facility and also compared its rate with that of BMC’s. In the last fiscal, WR earned `3.03 crore through the pay-and-park facility.
On the CR line, new locations at Ghatkopar, Kurla, Kanjurmarg, Pen, Tilak Nagar, Mulund, Parel, Nahur, Kopar, Neral stations have been identified for the pay-and-park facility, while existing contracts have been renewed already. Currently, the CR has let out 25 car-parking locations near railway stations in the Mumbai division, and earned `2.94 crore in 2012-13 and `2.49 crore in 2011-12. Thane and LTT stations top the list of revenue generation from pay-and-park facilities.
“Assured parking is the need of the hour. We have cleared defunct utilities at potential spots. It will be a win-win situation for all when these pay-and-park stands become functional,” said Atul Rane, chief PRO of CR.