The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme has recently been launched for development of Railway stations on Indian Railways. This scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach.
- 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 Wi-Fi, 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 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.
Presently, 1275 railway stations have been identified for development under this scheme including 80 in Madhya Pradesh, 55 in Karnataka, 87 in Gujarat, 123 in Maharashtra, 82 in the State of Rajasthan, 49 in Assam,4 in the State of Tripura and 1 each in Arunachal Pradesh Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim.
Budgetry funds are being used for developing stations under ‘Amrit Bharat Station scheme’. However, a miniscule number of stations are also being explored for development under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
Rani Kamalapati Railway Station in the State of Madhya Pradesh has been commissioned through PPP model.
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.
