PM to lay foundation stone of 508 railway stations tomorrow

“Improving passenger amenities is a major focus of our government. Our Prime Minister is personally monitoring the progress from time to time. He has given excellent inputs on the design of stations. He will be laying the foundation for 508 stations,” Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday.

The Railways estimates that the redevelopment work of these stations, spread across 27 states and Union Territories, will be done in two years at Rs 24,470 crore, to be funded entirely by the Centre.

The 508 stations include 55 each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 49 in Bihar, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 21 each in Gujarat and Telangana, 20 in Jharkhand, 18 each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 15 in Haryana and 13 in Karnataka. They are part of the 1,309 stations earmarked for redevelopment under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme approved by the Cabinet last year.

The redevelopment of the stations are aimed at providing modern passenger amenities, along with ensuring well-designed traffic circulation, inter-modal integration and well designed signage for guidance of passengers, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement, adding that the design of station buildings will be inspired by local culture, heritage and architecture.

Noting that Modi has often laid stress on provision of state-of-the-art public transport and that railways is the preferred mode of transport of people, the PMO said he has prioritised the importance of providing world-class amenities at railway stations.