151-year-old railway station razed as part of reconstruction project

The iconic landmark, which was built in 1874 is being pulled down to make way for a modern station with world-class facilities

Hyderabad: The South-Central Railway authorities on Friday began demolishing the 151-year-old Secunderabad Railway Station as part of a modernisation project at a cost of ₹720 crore.

The iconic landmark, which was built in 1874 and remodelled in 1952 and is considered among the oldest railway stations in the country, is being pulled down to make way for a modern station with world-class facilities, comparable to an international airport (HT PHOTO)

The iconic landmark, which was built in 1874 and remodelled in 1952 and is considered among the oldest railway stations in the country, is being pulled down to make way for a modern station with world-class facilities, comparable to an international airport, said a senior railway official.

A railway official said the demolition of the main terminal building on the northern side was being carried out without disturbing the passenger flow and that it will be completed within a week. “We are expecting to complete the construction within a year. Once completed, it would be the most modern railway station in the country,” he said, requesting anonymity.

According to officials, the modernised Secunderabad railway station will have terminal buildings on northern and southern sides, each with ground plus three floors, a double-storey sky concourse, two 7.5-metre-wide travelators on either side, 26 lifts, 32 escalators, two wide footbridges, and multi-level and underground parking facilities.

“The entire northern terminal will look like an airport with spacious lounges, modernised ticket counters, air conditioned waiting halls, seating arrangements, retail outlets, food courts cafeterias and many other passenger amenities,” the official quoted above said.

The building is not a heritage property registered with the Archaeological Survey of India or the state archaeological department. But heritage conservationists expressed dissatisfaction over the demolition of the iconic Nizam-era structure.

According to P Anuradha Reddy, convener of Indian National Trust for Architecture and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Hyderabad chapter, the Secunderabad railway station was constructed during the period of the sixth Nizam, Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, in 1874, as part of connecting Hyderabad with the rest of the country.

The actual work on the railway line between Secunderabad and Wadi began in 1870 with the involvement of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway (a then British-owned railway company). The entire expense for the railway line was borne by the Nizams.

It took four years to complete the construction of tracks between Secunderabad and Wadi junction. Simultaneously, the main terminal building was completed in 1874. The first train under the Nizam’s private railways chugged out of this station to Wadi junction. The Secunderabad–Wadi line was later extended to Vijayawada Junction as the Vijayawada–Wadi line in 1889.

It was an architectural marvel with a main portico and concourse, constructed with the help of the British engineers in the Nizam style of architecture, said Reddy. “The station was merged into Indian Railways in 1951 and even while remodelling it in 1952, the then government did not demolish the original construction and retained its original design,” Reddy added.

She pointed out that the Nizams had constructed another iconic railway station at Kacheguda in Hyderabad in 1916. “We are apprehensive that it might, too, get demolished in the coming years,” she said.