Cabway project delayed; to be ready in Sept

LUCKNOW: The cabway facility at Charbagh will take another month before it is opened for people. Railways was to inaugurate it on August 15 initially. But now it's not before September that freedom from station congestion will come to people.
It was lack of funds which caused delay in the project. "We would open it the next month and rest of the things which were planned regarding entry fee would remain the same," said Ashok Kumar Singh, divisional railway manager (DRM), Lucknow division, North Eastern Railway (NER).
The cabway will be the first `paid entry' at Charbagh station. Those driving in four-wheelers will pay Rs 50. Three-wheelers will be allowed entry on payment of Rs 30 and two-wheelers on payment of Rs 20. Rickshaws and cycles will not be allowed on the drive-in platform.
Cabway will be a direct entry to platform area. The drive-in platform will be handling the originating trains of NER's Lucknow division. As of now, it is only the first phase of the project which will be completed.
The project coming up on 11,000 sqm of land has three phases. Under first phase, cabway will connect Lucknow Junction (LJn) station internally. It will take people inside Lucknow Junction (LJn) station from RPF Lines close to Mawaiyya Crossing.
People will be able to get down from their vehicle on cabway, right beside the train they have to board. Passengers can park their vehicles or take a U-turn from entry road and exit station premises. Under second phase, cabway will lead to main concourse of the Charbagh station and under final phase, ROB will connect all platforms of LJn.
People entering from here will not have to hire coolies, or take a long walk to reach their coach or climb the stairs to reach desired platform. Railways is already planning to set up a booth providing platform tickets to people at the entry gate.
The autos and tempos will not be allowed inside for more than half-an-hour. All other vehicles can be stationed for three hours. However, it is still to be seen if railways will keep the September deadline to open the cabway. The deadline has been postponed several times in the past.