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New Delhi Railway Station Redevelopment

Client

Tractebel Engineering

My Role

Independent UX Consultant

Tools

Secondary Research

Project Duration

3 Months
Placemaking Consultant
Architect

"Sarth Khare, through his comprehensive and well-researched study, has brought in a unique paradigm of users' perspective to the whole planning process. It covers all the aspects that would enhance a travellers' experience in the proposed railway station and introduce the concept of looking at transportation not as a journey but as a service and as an experience."

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—Rahul Jotshi, Senior General Manager, Tractebel Engineering

NDRS Redevelopment

Overview

The landmark project is the redevelopment project of more than nine decades old New Delhi Railway Station the heart of the National Capital. It is one of the busiest railway stations of India with around 400 trains and about 0.4 million passengers arriving and departing every day.

 

The redevelopment project involves the creation of a multi-modal hub through overhauling of infrastructure and provision of state-of-the-art amenities, such as an elevated concourse and multi-level car parking. The integrated development plan also includes commercial, retail and hospitality components on about 30 acres of land, next to the city's main business centre- Connaught Place.

Project Area

217 Acres

Project Cost

$850 million

People Affected

0.4 million daily
Overview

Blind Spots

The key objective of this project is to provide superior passenger services to Railway passengers through state of art architecture, facilities and public amenities.

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When I was onboarded as a consultant, the basic 'Area Program' had been compiled by Tractebel using Design Standards and they had already begun work on the Concept Design, Vehicular Circulations and  Physical Connectivity.

 

But there was no focus on the User Experience would have in the mega transit hub. I proposed to work on the following areas.

Sense of Belonging

Identify functions within the station that would help give the users a sense of  “place” and belonging. Creating a variety of public spaces that boost local pride.

Adaptable Design

Addressing the demands of "Cyber-Mentality" in a physical space and designing spaces allowing "Virtual Mobility" with the vision for accommodating design changes.

Aligned Approach

Align the needs of the Government of India, Ministry of Railways, the designers and stakeholders to ensure that the needs of the travellers is met.

Seamless Navigation

 Optimise travel time spent in transit within the multi-modal hub. Focus on Universal Accessibility with features of Seamless Personal Navigation which are aesthetically instinctive.

Virtually Connected

Seamlessly connect mobility services to a virtual platform, ensuring a digital experience that compliments the physical space and eliminates Information Asymmetry

Ecology

Contextualize the architectural design solutions to New Delhi's history, culture, ecology and to the urban fabric of its neighbourhoods.

Blind Spots
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This study about the NDRS redevelopment project takes cues from the spirit of ‘Young and Resurgent India’ and major campaigns - Digital India, Make in India, Know India Programme, Accessible India, Smart City Mission & Atma Nirbhar Bharat and espouses that these should be amply reflected in the concept and design of the NDRS.

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User Goals and Needs Identification

This study was done in identifying the crucial scenarios in which the station will be used by the users. The outcome of this study would help to identify touchpoints that Tractebel would need to focus on while designing the station. 

 

As a Railway station is primarily a transit space, the categorization of the user groups done on the basis of FAIR (Future Secure and Accessible Rail) Stations User Groups. 

From the scenarios of the identified user group. Aligning these crucial topics with global multi-modal benchmarking indexes — touchpoints were identified. I further proposed the incorporation of these touchpoints within four broad categories in the station.

  1. Placemaking

  2. Circulation

  3. Future-Proofing

  4. Information Technology Enabled Services (ITeS)

Research

User Research
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This study was done in identifying the crucial scenarios in which the station will be used by the users. The outcome of this study would help to identify touchpoints that Tractebel would need to focus on while designing the station. 

1. Placemaking

These set of design proposals focussed on making the area engaging and appealing to the travellers. These included—

  1. Creating Healthful Spaces &  Services

  2. Linking NDRS to Delhi's Greens

  3. Design to Enhance Sales

  4. Incorporating Public Art

  5. Designing Sensorially

3. Future-Proofing

These suggestions guide the designers to make the transit hub more adaptable and sustainable—

  1. Automated Retail

  2. Net-Zero Energy Building

  3. Gamifying Ecological Endeavors

  4. Mobility on Demand

  5. Intelligent Systems, IoT & Data Feedback Loops

  6. First 5G Enables Station in India

2. Circulation

This part of the study focussed on integrating services that would make the end-to-end journey easier—

  1. Creating a Cycling Infrastructure

  2. Baggage free Experience

  3. Gamify Walking

  4. Seamless personal navigation through technology

  5. Designing for people with reduced mobility

4. ITeS

These suggestions help in integrating the services in a digital space and eliminate information asymmetry—

  1. Mobility as a Service

  2. Aggregating services

  3. Linking private and public modes of transport

  4. One Digital Space for everything

  5. Integrating Customer Touchpoints 

Here are some of these proposals in detail.

Please click the button to view the entire presentation

Designing NDRS for Superior Passenger Service

Design Concepts

Client Testimonial

“Sarth Khare, through his comprehensive and well-researched study, has brought in a unique paradigm of users’ perspective to the whole planning process. It covers all the aspects that would enhance a travellers’ experience in the proposed railway station and introduce the concept of looking at transportation not as a journey but as a service and as an experience. It also gives actionable steps to work towards meeting users’ needs and expectations. For this, he has identified various user groups and scenarios in which the station will be used by the users. The outcome of this study helps in identifying various user touchpoints. His unmistakable focus on users with restricted mobility and pedestrians sensitizes us with concern and responsibility to drive our design to be usable and accessible to all. He has also highlighted factors such as hub facilities, transit quality, mobility, accessibility, public amenities etc. through the conceptual prism of looking at transportation not as a journey but as a service and as an experience.

 

Going beyond our needs, mobility and technology, his research also links NDRS redevelopment with larger urban tissue of the neighbourhood. It proposes ways to tie in with the larger ecology of Delhi and other ways to sensorially ground the station complex historically and culturally into Delhi. It also offers a unique suggestion to highlight indigenous arts, crafts, products and skills throughout the station. This will help establish this station - a gateway to Delhi, as something organic to the city. Designing with these concepts in mind will help us showcase India’s glorious history and culture as well as its resurgence and dynamism through this station.”

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Rahul Jotshi, Senior General Manager, Tractebel Engineering

Client Testimonial
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