Delhi Govt Nod to Rebuild, Extend Shakurbasti Maintenance Shed for Vande Bharat Trains – News18

The path to rebuild and extend the Shakurbasti train shed has been cleared now as the Delhi government’s Environment Department gave nod for transplantation and removal of trees.

Speaking to News18, a Railway Ministry official said that the existing shed was old and needed modernization.

“It was an old maintenance shed and needed modernisation. As we are running more trains, we also needed to enhance the capacity of this shed. This project was on hold due to environmental clearance,” the official said, demanding anonymity.

Until last year, only two Vande Bharat trains were being maintained in this shed, but the number has now increased to three.

“With more and more trains in the pipeline, we needed to enhance the capacity of the sheds as well,” they said, adding that along with the extension of this maintenance shed, the old structure is also being rebuilt.

For Vande Bharat trains, current periodicity of the trip schedule is 5,000 km or three days, whichever is earlier.

On Monday, the Delhi government announced that they have cleared way for construction of a new maintenance shed for Vande Bharat trains.

The Delhi Government has mandated compensatory plantation of 10x trees to protect the environment.

The government had received a proposal from the Railways for removing and transplanting 78 trees to clear its construction site.

In a statement, the government said that at least 70 trees will be transplanted and eight trees will be removed from the site. At least 780 new saplings will be planted in lieu of the exercise, they added.

The file now be placed before the LG.

The Delhi Government has asked the Railways to not damage a single tree at the site other than those that have been identified and approved by the government. If any tree apart from the approved ones is damaged, it shall constitute an offence under Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994.​