Rail Land Lease Policy: Now railway stations will also get great facilities like airports soon. All set to capture such splendid features. It is expected that soon passengers can come to branded outlets, restaurants, food courts, retail shops, showrooms at railway stations including suburban railway stations. The plan for a multi-modal cargo terminal will go ahead rapidly as the Ministry of Railways has reduced the license fee while increasing the lease period for space or land to 35 years. Explain that this was one of the main reasons for the stations not having good restaurants, shops and other establishments.

Under the PM Gati Shakti framework, the Center on Wednesday approved a revised policy of the Railways on leasing out railway land for cargo-related activities and public utilities. According to this, railway land or space can be leased for 35 years at 1.5 percent of the market rate per annum. This may work in favor of MGR Chennai Central and Egmore and major suburban railway stations, which have large space left but lack utilities like large restaurants, retail outlets and others.

Talking to the media, a senior railway official said that with this commercial space and land will be taken on lease at the stations. A cargo terminal can also be developed. Many are on the drawing board for cargo and investors have shown interest in setting up several facilities. The increase in the lease period and reduction in fees will give a sense of ownership to the investors, the official said. This will help them in better management to promote the enterprise, improve it and make it attractive to travellers.

The official said that now the lease period is five years. But investors say it will take them at least eight years to break even. The proposal to extend the lease period came from the Divisional Railway Manager, Chennai after demand from the industry and now Chennai Division has already received several proposals from the industry for development of railway stations and cargo terminals.