Ludhiana, August 27, 2023 (Yes Punjab News)
Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw has informed MP Rajya Sabha from Ludhiana Sanjeev Arora that total of 30 railway stations of Punjab are being upgraded in 2 phases.
Arora had asked about the timeline for the upgradation of Ludhiana and Jalandhar railway stations; and whether Railway is also planning to add more cities of Punjab especially, Amritsar railway station for upgradation because of its historical, cultural and religious importance.
In reply, the Minister for Railways provided the names of 30 railway stations of Punjab which are being upgraded. These railways stations are as under: Abohar, Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib, Beas, Bhatinda Junction, Dhandari Kalan, Dhuri, Fazilka, Firozpur Cantt, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar Cantt., Jalandhar City, Kapurthala, Kotkapura, Ludhiana, Malerkotla, Mansa, Moga, Muktsar, Nangal Dam, Pathankot Cantt., Pathankot City, Patiala, Phagwara, Phillaur, Rup Nagar, Sangrur, SAS Nagar Mohali and Sirhind. Ministry of Railways has launched ‘Amrit Bharat Station Scheme’ for development of the railway stations.
Giving this information in a statement here today, Arora said the Minister further said that the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach.
The scheme involves preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, cleanliness, free WiFi, 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 such station.
The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for ‘Divyangjans’ sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballast less tracks, ‘Roof Plazas’ as per necessity phasing and feasibility and creation of city centres at the station in the long term.
The Minister for Railways further mentioned in his reply to the question asked by Arora in the recently concluded Monsoon Session of Rajya Sabha that so far, 1309 Stations have been identified for development under this scheme across the country. 30 stations in the State of Punjab have been identified under this scheme. Ludhiana and Jalandhar Railway stations have been identified in the scheme. Amritsar Railway Station has also been included because of its historical, cultural and religious importance.
The Minister further stated in his reply that modernization/upgradation of railway stations is a continuous and ongoing process and works in this regard are undertaken as per requirement subject to inter-se priority of works, volume of passenger traffic and availability of funds.
Arora said the Minister further stated that development/redevelopment of railway stations is complex in nature involving safety of passengers and trains and requires various statutory clearances from urban/local bodies etc. and these factors affect the completion time. Therefore, no time frame can be indicated at this stage. However tentative completion of Ludhiana railway station is 2025.
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