Title - New traffic plan for Old Delhi Railway Station

In a bid to end woes of Rail travelers coming to Old Delhi Railway Station, the Public Works Department of the Delhi Government in association with Northern Railways has prepared a new traffic plan for decongestion of the region. The proposed plan will pave way for removal of the boundary wall of the station to widen the exiting road.A mini-bus terminal will be created nearby Dangal Maidan and non-motorised vehicle (NMV) lane along the carriageway running from Fatehpuri traffic intersection to Kodia Pul on SP Mukherjee Marg will be realigned. According to the sources, the new traffic plan has already been cleared by apex transport and traffic planning body UTTIPEC on Monday.A senior Northern Railway official said, "The entire boundary wall from the entrance to exit of the station would be removed. It would help in widening the carriageway outside the station. The width of the carriageway would increase by three metres to 9.75 metres from the current 6.5 metre. It would in fact add one extra lane on the carriageway, which would ease the flow of traffic on road".

Due to the creation of the separate lane for cycle rickshaw and other slow moving non-motorised vehicles, the width of the road has shrinked. Autos and buses parked haphazardly further slow down the speed of vehicles on the stretch. The road is an important link which connects central Delhi to the northern part of the city. It is also used by commuters coming from Trans-Yamuna heading towards North. The stretch which is hardly 1.5 kilometres consumes significant time and it takes more than an hours at times due to the congestion.As per the new traffic plan, the NMV lane would run from behind the bus stops. "The bus stops will be on the front edge of the footpath outside the station boundary wall. The NMV lane currently runs in front of the bus stops, so the buses are forced to halt at the stops on the carriageway itself, causing traffic jam. The plan to be implemented in phased manner, envisages building up a mini-terminal for the city buses at Dangal Maidan, with entry and exit points on the carriageway running from Kodia Pul to Fatehpuri on SP Mukherjee Marg.Currently, the buses at the bus stops lead to heavy traffic jam on the stretch. Once the plan is implemented all buses would halt in the terminal. They would stay on the road only for the while when they have to pick up passengers.In wake of Delhi High Court order, the new traffic plan prepared, which directed the PWD to take necessary measures to decongest the road and provide enough space for NMV. The plan will be placed before the Delhi High Court for final approval.