Vinod Bhat
Three Railway Stations viz Rani Kamlapati Station of West Central Railway, Gandhinagar Capital station of Western Railway and Sir M. Visveswaraya Terminal Station of South Western Railway have been developed and commissioned during the last three years.
Based on the experience gained from the redevelopment of these three railway stations, Ministry of Railways has launched ‘Amrit Bharat Station scheme’ for development of Stations on Indian Railways. So far, 1318 number of stations have been identified for development/redevelopment under this scheme.
This scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long term approach. It involves preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’, better passenger information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping etc. keeping in view the necessity at each such station.
The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballast less tracks, ‘Roof Plazas’ as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centres at the station in the long term.
This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
