PM Lays Foundation Stone For Redevelopment Of 553 Railway Stations, 1500 Road Over Bridges
New Delhi: In a historic initiative to modernize and faster railways, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone/ inauguration /dedication to the Nation of redevelopment of 553 railway stations under Amrit Bharat Scheme and 1500 Road over Bridges/ Underpasses across India via video conferencing on Monday.
Laying of the foundation stone/inauguration/ dedication to the Nation of redevelopment of 553 railway stations includes a total No. of 43 railway stations & 92 ROB / RUB of Northern Railway.
Events in this regard were held on almost all stations in the State and Governors, Chief Ministers, the dignitaries and the people participated with great enthusiasm. Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Vinai Kumar Saxena, Minister of State of External Affairs and Culture, Meenakashi Lekhi, Divisional Railway Manager, Delhi Division, Sukhvinder Singh were present in the programme held simultaneously at Tilak Bridge Railway Station.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that today’s programme is a symbol of the new work culture of New India. “Whatever India does today, it does it on an unprecedented speed and scale. We dream big and work tirelessly to realize them. This resolve is visible in this Viksit Bharat Viksit Railway programme,” he said.
He mentioned the scale that has gained unprecedented momentum recently. He mentioned his Jammu and Gujarat events of the last few days from where he launched massive expansion of education and health sector infrastructure.
Similarly, today also, 550 stations in 12 states spread over 300 districts are being revamped. Talking about Gomti Nagar station project in Uttar Pradesh, more than 1500 roads and overbridge projects PM Modi underlined the scale and speed of the ambition and resolve of new India.
The Prime Minister said that today projects worth Rs 40,000 crores are seeing the light of day and recalled initiating the Amrit Bharat Station project a few months ago where work to modernize 500 railway stations in the country had begun. He underlined that today’s event takes this resolve even further and provides a glimpse of India’s pace of progress. Prime Minister Modi congratulated the citizens of India for the railway projects.
Prime Minister Modi specially congratulated the Yuva Shakti of India for today’s development project as they are the real beneficiaries of Viksit Bharat. He said that the development projects of today will create employment and selfemployment opportunities for lakhs of youth, while also benefit those studying in schools. “Youth have the maximum right to decide how Viksit Bharat will unfold,” PM Modi exclaimed. He expressed gratitude towards the youth for bringing the dreams of railways in Viksit Bharat to reality through various competitions and also congratulated the winners. He assured the youth that their dreams and hard work along with the Prime Minister’s resolve make for the guarantee of Viksit Bharat.
The Prime Minister expressed happiness that the upcoming Amrit Bharat Stations will be symbols of both Vikas and Virasat Prime Minister Modi reiterated the creation of a Viksit Bharat in the last 10 years, especially in railways where the change is apparent. He observed that in the last 10 years, facilities which were once far-fetched have now become a reality and gave the example of Modernized Semi High-Speed trains like Vande Bharat, Amrit Bharat, NaMo Bharat, the fast pace of electrification of rail lines, and cleanliness inside trains and on the station platforms. He drew a comparison on how unmanned gates were commonplace in Indian Railways whereas overbridges and underbridges have ensured uninterrupted and accident-free movement today. He also mentioned that modern facilities similar to those in airports are now being made available to the poor and middle class at the railway stations.
The Prime Minister said that today’s Railway is becoming a mainstay of ease of travel for the citizens. Further commenting on the transformation of railways, the Prime Minister said as the economy jumps to 5th place in global ranking from 11th, there is a massive increase in the railway budget from 45 thousand crore 10 years ago to 2.5 lakh crore today.
"Just imagine how much our strength will increase when we become the third largest economic superpower in the world. Therefore, Modi is working hard to make India the third largest economy in the world as soon as possible,” he added.
“Indian Railways is not just a passenger facility but is also the biggest carrier of India’s agricultural and industrial progress”, the Prime Minister remarked, noting that a faster train will save more time in transportation while also reducing industry costs. Hence, giving impetus to Make in India and Atmanirbhar India. Crediting India’s modern infrastructure, the Prime Minister hailed the nation as the most attractive place for investment all over the world. The Prime Minister concluded his address by showing the way for the next 5 years and said that the capacity of Indian Railways will increase when these thousands of stations are modernized, bringing a revolution of huge investment.
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone and inaugurated and dedicated to the Nation includes 43 Railway Stations of Northern Railway viz; Ballabgarh, Faridabad New Town, Gohana , Gurugram , Muzaffarnagar , Meerut City Jn , Palwal ,Tilak Bridge , Baijnath Paprola , Moga ,Beas Jn., Jalandhar City Jn., SMVD Katra, Akbarpur Jn ,Babatpur , Badshahpur, Bharatkund , Chilbila Jn. ,Gauriganj ,Haidergarh,Jaunpur City ,Kanpur Bridge Left Bank ,Kunda Harnamganj ,Lalganj,Lambhua, Lohta, Malhaur, Manak Nagar, Mariahu, Mohanlalganj, Nihalgarh, Phaphamau Jn, Shivpur, Sri Krishna Nagar,Takia, Unchahar Jn.,Vyasnagar, Aonla, Balamau Jn., Bulandshahr, Garhmuktesar, Kotdwar, and Seohara.
In 92 ROB / RUB of NR, 56 falls in Uttar Pradesh, 17 in Haryana, 13 in Punjab. 04 in Delhi, 01 in Himachal Pradesh and 01 in J&K. Division wise Lucknow – 43, Delhi – 30, Firozpur 10, Ambala - 07 and Moradabad- 02.
Construction of Road over Bridges (ROBs)/Underpasses is taken up to eliminate manned level crossing gates and is a continuous process in all Zones of Indian Railways. Priority of elimination of level crossing (LC) is based on its impact on safety in train operations, mobility of trains, impact for road users, reduced congestion, improved efficiency and enhanced connectivity etc.
The Amrit Bharat Station scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term vision. The scheme aims at preparation of Master Plans of the Railway stations and implementation of the Master Plan in phases to enhance the facilities. To club different grades/types of waiting halls and good cafeteria/retail facilities etc shall be provided.
High Level platforms shall be provided at all categories of stations. Station approaches shall be improved to ensure smooth access by widening of roads, removal of unwanted structures, properly designed signage, dedicated pedestrian pathways, well planned parking areas, improved lighting etc. Amenities for Divyangjan at stations shall also be provided. The scheme shall cater for introduction of new amenities as well as up gradation and replacement of existing amenities.