The Ministry of Railways has accelerated the redevelopment of major stations across the country to provide world class facilities and comfort during rail travel. According to ministry data, 40 railway stations are currently being redeveloped to provide modern facilities. Redevelopment of 14 railway stations is underway and they are expected to be awarded within the next 5 months. Redevelopment of railway stations across the country will have a manifold impact on the economy, generate more jobs and boost economic growth.
The Railway Ministry in its statement said that the redevelopment of these stations envisages facilities like a spacious roof plaza, food court, waiting lounge, children’s play area, designated space for local products etc.
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The development will integrate various modes of transport with the railway station, viz. Metro, Bus etc and will also connect both the sides of the city with the station. Green building technology and facilities for ‘Divyangjans’ to be adopted in building station infrastructure
The stations will be developed on an intelligent building with state-of-the-art facilities for passengers. The station redevelopment will create a ‘city centre’ like space at the station for the railway passengers as well as the general public.
Out of 40 stations, Ayodhya, Tirupati, Puri, Somnath, Rameswaram, Madurai, Sabarmati, Jammu Tawi, Gwalior, Lucknow (Charbagh), Chennai Egmore and Gaya are some of the major stations where work is awarded and survey is in progress at various stages. Site mobilization and construction. Whereas New Delhi, CSMT, Kanpur Central, Chandigarh, Prayagraj, Kanyakumari, Ajni (Nagpur), Ghaziabad, Ludhiana, Cuttack, Bengaluru Cantt, Ahmedabad, Jodhpur and Delhi Cantt. Those are the stations where the work is in tender stage and is likely to be awarded in the next 4-5 months.
It is worth mentioning that Rani Kamalapati Station of West Central Railway, Gandhinagar Capital Station of Western Railway and Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal Station of South Western Railway have been developed and commissioned. The timeline for construction of stations cannot be indicated at this stage as the station development program is complex and involves multiple stakeholders and various statutory approvals.
(with inputs from ANI)