Gurgaon needs a 21st century railway station

GURGAON: The railway station in Gurgaon was built in the 19th century as a part of the Rajputana-Malwa State Railway on the Delhi-Ajmer route and the only change that seems to have taken place in over a century is that the meter gauge has now been converted to the broader version.
Few in new Gurgaon know where the railway station is and fewer still have actually seen it.The building retains its pristine look and, despite the boast of being run on solar energy, the amenities are as primitive.
Platforms 1 and 2 are both currently under repair, which means that in parts they have no concrete surface. The train stops for just two minutes and we were lucky that two porters were available to help senior citizens board. On return, even they were missing and the overbridge was negotiated with some difficulty.
The location of this station cannot be changed, but even where it is it can relieve the current Delhi-Mathura-Kota route to Mumbai of some of its traffic burden. Two express trains to Mumbai already stop here. One of them even goes all the way to Chandigarh in the other direction. And Gurgaon does have a large number of people who travel to Mumbai by train, but are daunted by the prospect of driving to stations in Delhi.
To attract more passengers the station needs a major overhaul and whether the Rs 60 lakh announced by Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh from his MPLAD funds will be adequate is doubtful. Railway minister Suresh Prabhu too paid a special visit to this station, which suggested that he could be having big plans for it. If he does, they have remained a state secret so far.
Of all new colonies, Palam Vihar and the HUDA sectors around it are the only ones close to Gurgaon railway station.
The station needs proper parking space for private vehicles as the large lot next to it is occupied by cars marked for rail delivery. Express trains need a slightly longer halt here. Even Rewari, one Shatabdi stop away, has a much bigger and better railway station.