During the 2008–09 Indian Railways budget session, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav unveiled a design to improve the two-century-old Secunderabad Junction station at an estimated cost of 40 billion (est.$1 billion). In the 2009–10 budget hearing, Mamata Banerjee listed 50 stations (including Secunderabad) to upgrade to world-class facilities. According to the Rail Ministry, the upgrade would be similar to (Rome's central rail station). Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy proposed developing the Gandhi Hospital land adjoining the station along the lines of Toronto's Union Station, which was developed into a major commuter terminus, a commercial hub and a parking facility.
