Old Delhi rly station tests new traffic plan for buses

Some say it will ease congestion, others fear logjam

In a measure to decongest Shyama Prasad Mukerjee Marg outside Old Delhi railway station, city buses will be allowed soon to enter the railway premises on an experimental basis to pick and drop commuters.

The new traffic circulating plan, which was suggested by transport and traffic planning body UTTIPEC, will be implemented on the railway premises as a part of an experimental run ordered by the Delhi High Court.

The court had ordered the 15-day trial run while hearing a petition filed by NGO Manushi Sangathan on June 2.

“The trial, which is likely to begin next week, will continue for a fortnight. Buses coming from Fatehpuri and Mori Gate side and plying on the carriageway will enter the station premises from the current entry point,” a Northern Railway official said.

“Buses will share the auto lane, which is closest to the boundary wall, for entering the premises and exiting after dropping and picking passengers before finally moving out of the station,” the official added. 

Railway officials say they are working on the exact circulating plan, such as identifying the location where buses would stop to drop and fetch passengers. But they ruled out any major structural change like creating a bus stop on the premises.

The traffic police will also help the railways in implementing the trial run. “We will facilitate movement of buses in entering the railway station. This will enhance safety and convenience of passengers,” said Satyendra Garg, Joint Commissioner of Police (traffic).

‘May not work’

Even as railway officials prepare for the trial run, the department is not keen to implement the idea, contending that the initiative will disturb the traffic circulating plan on the premises.

“After UTTIPEC suggested the plan on May 24, a trial run was conducted on May 26. One bus was allowed to enter the premises. But it took almost an hour for the bus to come out of the station,” said a railway official who does not want to be named.

Railway authorities had recently implemented a new circulating plan at the station, which the officials said had in fact helped decongest traffic on SP Mukherjee Marg.

The new circulating plan, which came into effect from the first week of April, included earmarking new entry and exit points. Apart from that, three dedicated lanes and drop-off bays for autos, taxis and private vehicles were opened on the station premises.