ABSTRACT

Railway Stations have always been an essential part of the urban fabric and an integral part of the transport system. Railway stations, an important component of urban transport infrastructure, remains a lot to be desired in developing countries resulting in their poor productivity. Very little research has been carried out in the field of critically analyzing the causative factors of poor performance of stations in India. The present paper is an attempt to assess the performance of the largest railway station of South-Eastern Division i.e., Kharagpur Junction with daily passenger footfall of 50,000. The study is done to assess the physical and social infrastructure present in the station taking into consideration Divyangjan and evaluate the components as per the standards. The study also reveals that the FOB and the peripheral areas are most critical in terms of level of service (LOS). The study estimated the utilization levels of all platforms over 24 hours period. Further evaluation has been done to minimize the problems found in the above criterion. In addition, a proposal would be recommended to The Kharagpur Railway Station to overcome the issues.

Keywords: Peripheral Area, FOB (Foot-over bridge), Level of Service, Physical and Social Infrastructure, Divyangjan, Railway Services, Operational Characteristics