New Delhi Railway Station – India

New Delhi Railway Station, one of India’s busiest rail hubs, is undergoing a major redevelopment to become a more accessible and better connected multimodal gateway. In late 2024, the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) appointed the SYSTRA–Mace joint venture to provide project management consultancy for the programme, which is being delivered while the station remains operational.

The scheme will develop new linear station buildings, create a new air concourse above the tracks and reorganise access. It is designed to improve passenger circulation and amenities at a station handling more than 500,000 passengers a day across 16 platforms.

Managing a complex live-station programme

The redevelopment is a major brownfield project in the centre of New Delhi. Construction must be carefully phased around intensive railway operations and passenger movements. The station will remain open throughout the programme, although individual train services may be diverted or regulated when required to enable the works.

SYSTRA and Mace are providing project management services across design review, works supervision, quality control, safety coordination, interface management, testing and commissioning. The assignment requires close coordination between railway operations, station buildings, road access, utilities and the many transport services converging on the site.

Creating an integrated multimodal hub

Two new linear station buildings are planned alongside Platform 1 on the Paharganj side and Platform 16 on the Ajmeri Gate side. They will include expanded passenger concourses, waiting and retail areas, railway operational spaces and improved vertical circulation through lifts and escalators.

A new air concourse above the tracks will provide separate arrival and departure areas and improve movement between the platforms and both sides of the city. On the Paharganj side, a dedicated multimodal transit hub will connect rail services with metro, buses, taxis, auto-rickshaws and pedestrian routes, including a dedicated concourse for airport transfers.

The wider programme also includes elevated and ground-level road networks, parking and circulation facilities, improved parcel-handling infrastructure and a residential complex for railway staff at Ramnagar Railway Colony. Together, these elements are intended to reduce congestion around the station and create clearer connections between the railway and the surrounding city.