Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations, including 25 in Odisha, as part of the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme via video conferencing. The ambitious project is estimated to cost is Rs 24,470 crore.
“Around 1300 major railway stations in India will now be developed as Amrit Bharat Railway Station. They will be re-developed in a modern way. Of these, work on the redevelopment of 508 Amrit Bharat Railway Stations begins today,” said Modi.
He further said that each ‘Amrit Bharat Station’ will become symbol of city’s modern aspirations, ancient heritage. “Modern railway stations will give a boost to tourism and economic activities. The government has also launched ‘One Station One Product’ scheme which will benefit workers and craftsmen, along with branding of the district,” he added.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that redevelopment of stations is being done with a vision to meet the requirements for the next 50 years.
The 25 railway stations in Odisha will be redeveloped with a sum of Rs 547.7 crore. These stations are Sakhigopal, Mancheswar, Dhenkanal, Chhatrapur, Angul, Meramundali, Baluagaon, Lingaraj Temple Road, Talcher Road, Khurda Road, Kantabanji, Bargarh Road, Hirakud, Rairakhol, Barpali, Muniguda, Balangir, Harishankar Road, Bhawanipatna, Khariar Road and Damanjodi under East Coast Railway (ECoR) and Barbil, Rajgangpur, Baripada and Jaleswar under South Eastern Railway (SER).
Apart from these stations, Palasa, Vizianagaram and Duvvada stations in Andhra Pradesh and Mahasamund station in Chhattisgarh that come under ECoR zone have been included in the first phase.
Among the 25 stations in Odisha, 11 falls under Khurda Road. Minister for Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Public Enterprises,Science & Technology Ashok Chandra Panda was present at Lingaraj Temple Road railway station, which will redeveloped with an investment of Rs 19 crore, during the found stone laying event. Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi and MLA Susant Kumar Rout joined as Guests of Honour at Mancheswar railway station on which Rs 26 crore will be spent.
Besides Odisha, the selected 508 stations are spread across 26 states and union territories, including 55 each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 49 in Bihar, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 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, among others.
The scheme involves preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in phases to improve smooth access to railway stations by removing unwanted structures, improvement in lighting, provisioning of better circulating area, upgrading parking space, amenities for persons with disabilities, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, roof plaza and creation of city centres at the stations.
The design of the station buildings will be inspired by local culture, heritage and architecture, sources said.
So far, 1,309 railway stations have been identified under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Among these, 57 railway stations in Odisha will undergo a major makeover. These stations are Angul, Badampahar, Balangir, Balasore, Balugaon, Barbil, Bargarh Road, Baripada, Barpali, Belpahar, Betnoti, Bhadrak, Bhawanipatna, Bhubaneswar, Bimlagarh, Brahmapur, Brajrajnagar, Chatrapur, Cuttack, Damanjodi, Dhenkanal, Gunupur, Harishanker Road, Hirakud, Jajpur-Keonjhar Road, Jaleswar, Jaroli, Jeypore, Jharsuguda, Jharsuguda Road, Kantabanji, Kendujhargarh, Kesinga, Khariar Road, Khurda road, Koraput, Lingaraj Temple Road, Mancheswar, Meramandali, Muniguda, New Bhubaneswar, Panposh, Paradeep, Parlakhemundi, Puri, Raghunathpur, Rairakhol, Rairangpur, Rajgangpur, Rayagada, Rourkela, Sakhi Gopal, Sambalpur, Sambalpur city, Talcher, Talcher Road, Titlagarh Jn, according to the ECoR.
