Whilst building work is already beneath technique to create a contemporary and swanky New Delhi railway station, Northern Railways’ plans for the nineteenth century Previous Delhi station are in stark distinction. The Delhi division is coordinating with the railway board for the approval to protect and shield the station as a heritage construction, whereas concurrently upgrading its performance for the longer term, officers conscious of the matter mentioned.
The plan will centre round conserving the station’s distinctive Mughal-style structure – its purple sandstone façade, arched home windows and fort-like towers that mirror the grandeur of close by monuments such because the Crimson Fort. Restoration work will prioritise structural stability and aesthetic preservation, with strict controls on alterations to the unique design, officers mentioned.
“Whereas the Railway station was designed conserving the close by Crimson Fort in thoughts, it was constructed by the British, so it isn’t correct Mughal structure. One can say it’s impressed by Mughal structure, conserving the identical theme in thoughts the Mughals had for the Crimson Fort. This is identical motive they used Crimson sandstone,” mentioned a Northern Railways official, including the identical stone continues to be used for minor structural repairs, each time required, by sourcing it from Jodhpur.
“Thus far, we have now executed our personal repairs to the construction, each time wanted. The objective is to create a correct preservation plan. An professional company could also be roped in too,” the official mentioned.
Railways mentioned the preservation won’t come at the price of modernisation. They’re engaged on a parallel technique to improve passenger facilities, streamline entry and exit factors, and decongest platforms by way of redevelopment of adjoining areas. The heritage constructing itself will probably be shielded from any invasive adjustments, at the same time as infrastructure is revamped.
“The target is to strike a stability between conservation and capability, defending the previous with out constraining the current,” mentioned a second official.
In distinction, work has already begun to develop the New Delhi Railway station right into a world class airport-like hub, with twin dome buildings on Paharganj and Ajmeri Gate; an air concourse, redeveloped plazas; and 16 ‘upgraded’ platforms, alongside seven new flyovers on the surface for improved connectivity to completely different elements of town. Thus, the unique station will now not be preserved as a part of this plan, with demolition to incorporate the State Entry Street, which connects it to Connaught Place.
Historical past, heritage and the current
Also referred to as “Delhi Junction”, the Previous Delhi station is among the many oldest and most traditionally important railway hubs constructed throughout British rule. Specialists mentioned it was a key second within the shift of town’s character from a Mughal “walled metropolis” to a extra developed space with city halls, tracks, hospitals — the markers of a brand new and eventual Capital in making.
Established in 1864 (or 1867, in accordance with the Nationwide Mission on Monuments and Antiquities beneath the Archaeological Survey of India), the present-day red-stone constructing with turreted towers was constructed in 1903 and can quickly full 125 years.
“There are additionally instructions to rejoice anniversaries for all main railway stations. We’re taking a look at milestones for Previous Delhi, with this being a serious one that can come up,” mentioned the railway official.
Situated on Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Marg close to Chandni Chowk, the station was meant to be an entry level for the British – transferring from Kolkata to throughout the Yamuna and finally additional northwest to Punjab and into Lahore. Its integration with the historic core of Shahjahanabad, the walled metropolis based by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, was a key level in Delhi’s historical past, creator Narayani Gupta mentioned in her 1981 ebook ‘Delhi Between Two Empires, 1803-1931’.
“The railway station and the road resulting in it rudely distorted the concentric sample of Shahjahanabad. The traveller who had as soon as approached town by river or bridge, with the domes and minarets step by step revealing themselves, now descended from the prepare into a really completely different atmosphere. The main target of exercise shifted: the place as soon as the Crimson Fort and the japanese finish of Chandni Chowk had fashioned the centre, a extra prosaic substitute emerged across the station, the City Corridor and the Firm Bagh. Right here commerce coalesced and debouched, and the character of town started to alter,” wrote Gupta.
Elements of the walled metropolis, together with gardens developed by Shah Jahan’s daughter, Jahanara, have been cleared after the revolt of 1857 to make method for railway infrastructure. The station was constructed by changing neighbourhoods north of those gardens. The constructing options an imposing façade with arcaded patterns, deep verandahs throughout its three storeys, and Gothic components comparable to tower-like bastions that type the corners of projecting porches. Painted in brick purple with white highlights, it presents a particular architectural identification, in accordance with NMMA data.
Historian Swapna Liddle, talking not too long ago at an Indian Nationwide Belief for Artwork and Cultural Heritage (Intach) exhibition of previous Delhi maps, mentioned that an 1850 Shahjahanabad map confirmed that, whereas a lot of the walled metropolis continues to be intact, widespread adjustments occurred after the 1857 revolt.
“They then started to demolish Mughal-era constructions. Some masjids have been demolished. We additionally had the enduring chowk that offers Chandni chowk its identify, which was demolished. Previous Mughal lawns, clearly seen in the identical map have been demolished to constructed the Previous Delhi railway station, for which building started from 1860 onwards and that was a serious change to the walled metropolis construction,” she mentioned.
Over the many years, the station has witnessed a number of pivotal moments — from the motion of troops and items throughout colonial rule to the mass migrations throughout the Partition of India, when it turned a web site of each chaos and human resilience. It has additionally modified possession not less than twice earlier than coming beneath the current day Northern Railways.
Archive images accessed by PR present the station depicting a daring ‘Japanese Punjab Railway’ inscribed on its façade, with comparable black-and-white images depicting North Western Railway too as vertical beams on its minarets. “These have been each pre-Independence, as Northern Railways got here up solely after Independence when new railway divisions have been created,” the second official mentioned.
Rising footfall and presence
From simply two platforms dealing with round 100 passengers every day on the time of its institution, the station has expanded to 16 platforms and now caters to over two lakh passengers every day, with greater than 200 trains originating, terminating, or passing by way of it. Till the mid-Nineties, it dealt with each metre and broad gauge site visitors.
Officers mentioned congestion stays an issue at current, that means particular festive trains are not often run from the station. Lengthy-term plans embody concentrate on decongesting the world additional. “Previous black and white pictures accessible in Railway archives present the British would come right here in horse drawn carts and finally, most of the people did too. The station was not very crowded in any respect, even within the early 1910s and 20s,” the official mentioned.
At current, the station stays an important rail hub connecting Delhi to northern, japanese and northeastern states, whereas additionally serving as a gateway to Previous Delhi’s Delhi’s bustling markets, spiritual websites, and culinary heritage.