Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation for upgradation of 12 stations in Mysuru Railway Division under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) on Monday through video conferencing. This is part of a nation-wide programme which entails laying the foundation for 554 railway stations across the country.
While 15 railways stations have been selected for upgradation under ABSS, the foundation for three stations had already been laid and the work was in progress.
Sharing details of the event, Shilpi Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, Mysuru Railway Division, told mediapersons here on Saturday that the upgradation of the 12 stations is being taken up at a cost of ₹297 crore while the total outlay for the Mysuru division including construction of road under and road over bridges, is ₹367.24 crore.
She said the time frame for the completion of the works is nine months. The 12 stations for which the foundation stone will be laid by the Prime Minister includes Chamarajanagar, Chitradurga, Hassan, Ranebennur, Sagar Jambagaru, Sakleshpur, Shivamogga Town, Subramanya Road, Taluguppa, Tiptur, Chikkamagalur and Bantwal. The three other stations wherein the works have already commenced are Davanagere, Harihar and Ariskere.
Ms. Agarwal said ABSS has a long-term vision for the ongoing development of the stations and entails creating master plans and executing them in phases to provide world-class facilities to stations.
These enhancements encompass improving station accessibility, waiting areas, toilet facilities, lift and escalators, free Wi-Fi, establishing kiosks for promoting local products under One Station One Product, designating spaces for business meetings, establishing executive lounges, improved passenger information systems, etc. said Ms. Agarwal.
The ABSS also envisages integrating the stations with the surrounding city areas on both sides, promoting multimodal connectivity, providing facilities for specially-abled individuals, introducing ballast-less track, incorporating roof plazas etc, according to Ms. Shilpi Agarwal.
The revamped stations will undergo a stunning makeover and be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and are expected to transform the railway stations into ‘’city centres’’ and urban icons to give a new identity to the towns and cities as significant landmarks.
Road Under Bridges
The PM will also dedicate 12 road under bridges and one road over bridge constructed at a cost of ₹70.24 crore. These are located across various sections of the Mysuru Railway Division and going forward, the authorities plan to have another 129 ROBs and RUBs in the medium to long run so as to eliminate all manned and unmanned level crossing gates in the division.
The ROBs and RUBs are an initiative to enhance public safety and streamline traffic movement by minimising disruptions caused by railway crossings, according to the authorities.
Additional Divisional Railway Managers E.Vijaya and Vinayak Nayak, Senior Divisional Engineer (Coordination) K. Ravichandran, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Lohiteshwar and others were present.
