Indian railways is considered to be the lifeline of this country with the population of over 1.4 Billion people. Being the fourth largest railway network in the world, Indian rail network has 7325 stations through which at an average over 800 crore passengers travel annually. Railway stations are the face of railways and so while India is upgrading its locos, trains, tracks and related infrastructure at a rapid pace, it is giving equal importance to upgrading its stations for enhancing the travel experience of its passengers as per the standards of new India during the amrit kaal.
For decades after independence, Indian railways functioned with a mindset of providing only economical services but not focusing on the safety and comfort of the travellers. Unfortunately, It is the reason why railway infrastructure in India was never upgraded or updated as per the global standards. Fortunately, post 2014 Indian railways is functioning with a transformative mindset of facilitating its passengers with economy + efficiency by focusing on upgrading railway infrastructure at a transitional pace like never before.
After the highest ever budget allocation to the Indian railways in the annual budget for the year 2023-24, the Union Minister of Railways Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw announced Amrit Bharat station scheme for upgrading and modernising the railway stations including the major stations like New Delhi, CSTM, Ahmedabad, medium scale stations and even the stations in small towns. We can imagine how it would transform the travel experience of common citizens across the country including the people from lower income groups.
Improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, ‘Roof Plazas’ as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centres at the station in the long term is envisaged in upgradation/modernisation of 1275 in Amrit Bharat Stations scheme by the Ministry of Railways.
This explains new India’s scale of development as upgrading 1275 stations in India is as equal as transforming nearly all railway stations in countries like Russia (353), Canada (410) and South Africa (585). World class railway stations will have multi-faceted benefits matching up the aspirations of new India in its Amrit Kaal.
This scheme also focuses on passenger 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 stations. The stations will be upgraded such that it resembles the local culture and tradition, boosts up local business & art along with facilitating the passengers using world class technological features.
Unlike the way of partial governance in India a decade ago, the Amrit Bharat Stations covers railway stations across all the states of India including 72 in Andhra Pradesh, 86 in Bihar, 34 in Kerala, 49 in Assam, 32 in Chhattisgarh, 57 in Jharkhand, 149 in Uttar Pradesh, 123 in Maharashtra, 57 in Orissa, 82 in Rajasthan, 30 in Punjab, 73 in Tamil Nadu, 55 in Karnataka, 39 in Telangana, 94 in West Bengal, 11 in Uttrakhand, 13 in Delhi, 87 in Gujarat, 80 in Madhya Pradesh, 29 in Haryana, 3 in Himachal Pradesh, 4 each in jammu Kashmir & Tripura, 3 in Puducherry, and 1 each in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Sikkim & Chandigarh.
The before & after images attached below from the railway stations in Lonavala in Maharashtra, Gauriganj in Uttar Pradesh and Hojai in Assam shows how railway stations have been transforming in India post 2014:
Ten thousand crore rupees have already been sanctioned for the redevelopment of New Delhi, Ahmedabad and CSTM in Mumbai. The most important of all is that this station redevelopment will create 15 acres and 5.5 acres of new urban space in New Delhi & CSTM, Mumbai respectively. Here the futuristic master plan for the above mentioned stations.
Major work has been carried out in upgradation & redevelopment of railway station since the year 2014 in tier 2, tier 3 & tier 4 cities/towns across the country including Gandhinagar capital in Gujarat, Rani Kamlapati Railway Station in Bhopal, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station Manduadih Railway Station in Varanasi and many more.
World class railway stations will have multi-faceted benefits matching up the aspirations of new India in its Amrit Kaal. Out of 1275 selected railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, work is in progress on 120 stations and 1155 stations are at different stages of planning and tendering. This explains the scale and pace at which India is striding in its ‘Amrit Kaal’.
Author : Rangam Trivedi
Author Description : Rangam Trivedi has pursued his post graduation in transportation engineering. Along with it he pursued M.A. in political science as well as public policy analysis from London School of Economics. He is a young social contributor, researcher and an author.
Disclaimer : The views, thoughts, or opinions expressed in this blogs belong solely to the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of author’s employer, organisation, committee or any other group or individual.
