The Union railway ministry has decided to develop the infrastructure of New Jalpaiguri (NJP), the largest station in north Bengal and the second most important station in the Northeast zone, at a cost of Rs 350 crore.

NJP, which is in the southern end of Siliguri and falls under the Katihar division of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), will be turned into an “international-standard railway terminal”, officials said. Forty other railway stations will also be spruced up and the tenders will be issued in the next five months, the officials said.

“According to the re-development programme, any station that has been chosen under the scheme will be developed as an international-standard railway terminal,” said Sabyasachi De, the chief public relations officer (CPRO) of the NFR, over phone from Maligaon in Assam.

Every day around 50 pairs of passenger trains move through NJP, considered the gateway to the Northeast.

The toy train service of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway that has earned world heritage status from Unesco originates from the station. The station is also the terminal of the Mitali Express, the sole international train service of north Bengal that connects the region to Dhaka Cantonment in Bangladesh.

“According to the programme, NJP will be developed into a commercial hub with all modern facilities. For NJP, we are about to complete the designing stage of the proposed station building,” said the CPRO.

The new infrastructure includes provisions for a spacious roof plaza, facilities like a food court, a waiting lounge, a children’s play area and a designated space for local products.

“There are plans to integrate various modes of transport with the station with adequate parking areas. The infrastructure of the station will adopt green (pollution-free) building technology and facilities for physically challenged persons. It will have state-of-the-art facilities for passengers. Also, there will be a city centre-styled commercial area on the station premises,” a source said.

Both the eastern and western parts of the station will be developed and the entrance will also be modified.

With the railways drawing up an elaborate development plan for NJP, traders and shop owners who run businesses outside the station building are apprehensive of eviction. There are over 500 shops and stalls on both sides of the station.

Trinamul leaders have said they would oppose any plan by the railways to evict the traders without making appropriate arrangements for their rehabilitation.

“We too, want infrastructure development of the station but these people have been running their shops and stalls for years and provide employment to hundreds of others. The railways should elaborate on their rehabilitation plan and then initiate the work.If they are forcibly evicted, we will launch an extensive movement,” said a senior Trinamul leader.