Tirupati's Southern Rail Terminal Near-Ready, Full Upgrade by Year-End
A basement parking facility can accommodate 200 cars and 300 two-wheelers, while higher floors will host food courts, toilets, cloakrooms, and operational spaces for TTEs and railway staff.
Tirupati: After years of delays, redevelopment of Tirupati Railway Station is finally picking up pace. Nearly 95 per cent of the work on southern side of the station has already been completed, marking a major milestone in the Rs 300 crore station modernisation project launched in 2022. Originally targeted for completion by February 2025, railway officials assert the new southern terminal will be ready for commissioning by December 2025.
The railway station upgrade comes at a critical time, as footfalls at the station, largely driven by pilgrims heading to the Tirumala temple, are expected to surge exponentially in the coming decades. In response, Indian Railways is not just expanding the station’s capacity, it has reimaged it as one of the most advanced transit hubs in the country.
“Once the southern block is operational, we will shift our focus to the northern side and fast-track the remaining works. The goal is to commission a station that meets the needs of tomorrow’s travellers,” said station director K. Satyanarayana.
The new G+3 southern terminal is designed to ease congestion on the older northern side, which had become too cramped to handle the daily rush. Built with passenger convenience at its core, the new building includes arrival and departure concourses, ticketing areas, waiting lounges and a separate women’s hall.
A basement parking facility can accommodate 200 cars and 300 two-wheelers, while higher floors will host food courts, toilets, cloakrooms, and operational spaces for TTEs and railway staff.
In the next phase, the southern terminal will rise even further with 10 additional floors planned under a public-private partnership model. The station will feature 20 lifts and 22 escalators, along with two 35-metre-wide air concourses connecting all platforms. The upper levels will be leased out for commercial activities, including office spaces and retail outlets, making the station a hub of both transit and commerce.
The northern terminal will soon get its own facelift. A 10,800 square metre G+3 building is planned with waiting halls, a VIP lounge, cloakrooms, reservation counters, kiosks, retiring rooms, and administrative offices. A new 80-foot-wide access road is also being built to link DR Mahal Road with R.C. Road to directly connect with the southern terminal and ease vehicular flow.
