Anand Vihar stations E Delhi on rly map

“The state government has supported us in this venture and we are committed to develop the Railways,” Banerjee said after inaugurating the station. “Indian Railways was earlier the second largest network in the world but we have fallen in the rankings — we have to get back to the top.”

The minister said more such terminals and new trains are slated to come up soon.

Calling it a “historic day” for trans-Yamuna residents,Dikshit said,“This is just the beginning — East Delhi is coming up in such a big way that residents in other parts of Delhi will look at them in envy.”

The first phase of work on the station was sanctioned in 2003-04 and the initial project cost was pegged at Rs 85 crore,though it went up to approximately Rs 100 crore by the time of completion.

A special maintenance area has been built in the station to enable railway staff to carry out tasks such as pasting reservation charts on coaches,loading and unloading of catering equipment,bedrolls and parcels before trains reach a platform. This,officials said,would give ample space for passenger movement once a train reaches a platform.

The station will be integrated with the existing inter-state bus terminus at the same site and the upcoming Anand Vihar Metro station,scheduled to be opened by either end of this month or January beginning.

Trains flagged off today

* Anand Vihar-Lucknow Special

* Ghaziabad-New Delhi Ladies Special

* Delhi-Panipat EMU (augmented from 12 to 15 coaches)

What’s there for you

* Booking office

* Reservation hall

* Parcel and luggage offices

* VIP lounge

* Cyber café

* ATM

* Food court

* Tourist bureau and PCO

* AC dormitory

* Retiring rooms

* Station has elevators,escalators