The New Jalpaiguri railway station will be redeveloped as the first international train terminal of the country in two-and-a-half years.

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the work which would be taken up at NJP — the largest station in north Bengal and the second important station in the Northeast after Guwahati — with an estimated cost of around Rs 340 crore.

“It will be the first international train terminal of India with various facilities, including a terminal for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway,” said an official of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).

NJP is the terminus of DHR or the world-famous toy train of Darjeeling hills, which is also a world heritage recognized by Unesco. The station is also the terminus of Mitali Express, a train that runs between NJP and Dhaka Cantonment.

“The overall built-up area of the station will be around 37,000 square metres. Around 337.42 crores would be spent for the project which is expected to complete in 30 months,” the official added.

As per the plan, the station will have amenities like spacious roof plaza, a concourse with all passenger amenities in one place. There will be provisions for retail, cafeterias, and recreational facilities.

“It will have 12 lifts and 10 escalators, with an integrated security system, CCTV, and adequate waiting space. The building will also use green technology like solar energy, water conservation, and rain harvesting,” said a source.

On Friday, Modi also inaugurated an 88-kilometre-long stretch of double line from Ambari Falakata (in Jalpaiguri district) t o Gumanihat (in Cooch Behar district) that is along the principal train route that connects northeast with the rest of the country.

“The work was carried out with an expenditure of 1,461 crores. It will speed up train operations and augment train handling capacity of this region,” the source added.