Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations spread across the country virtually on August 6.
According to the Ministry of Railways, the redevelopment work is done at an estimated cost of ₹24,470 crore.
“Improving passenger amenities is a major focus of the government. The Prime Minister is personally monitoring the progress of Railways from time to time and he has given excellent input in designing the stations,” Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
Only 508 stations are currently being taken up for revamp under the Amrit Bharat Scheme that was launched to redevelop 1,309 stations.
Under the scheme, construction work is progressing on 24 stations in 10 States – Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Officials told The Hindu that the cost estimate drawn for stations where work is in progress is ₹11,136 crore.
The highest allocation among the 24 stations has gone to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja Terminus at ₹1,813 crore. This station is also a UNESCO world heritage site. Also, Gujarat’s Surat station has been allocated a ₹980 crore facelift. Close on Surat’s heels is Tamil Nadu’s Chennai Egmore station with an estimated cost of development standing at ₹842 crore.
“Revamping some of these stations is a complex exercise. There are 25% to 30% of stations in the scheme where we are facing challenges in revamping,” a top railway official said.
For instance, developing Kerala’s Ernakulum station, which is being developed at a cost of ₹445 crore, is a challenging endeavour, because there are constructions on both sides of the tracks and there is very less space to expand, the official said. Another example is that of Sabarmati station being built at an estimated cost of ₹335 crore, which requires multi-modal transport connectivity as it is also one of the core stations for the bullet train project, the official further said.
In Secunderabad station of Telangana, the construction challenge is to create a two-tier rooftop plaza. “Rooftop plazas are being proposed to be wider constructions which will replace the concept of foot over bridges. The wide arenas are built for passengers to rest and recoup while they wait for their train, instead of going and waiting on the platforms,” another official explained.
