PM Modi lays foundation stone for upgradation of Odisha’s 25 railway stations

Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations across the country, of which 25 are from Odisha.

The railway stations will be upgraded under Amrit Bharat Station scheme at a cost of over Rs 24,470 Crore.

The upgradation work will be completed within a period of two years, Modi said during a video conferencing programme today.

In the first phase, 25 railway stations under East Coast Railway (ECoR) have been selected for redevelopment under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme.

The stations are Sakhigopal, Mancheswar, Dhenkanal, Chhatrapur, Angul, Palasa, Meramandali, Balugaon, Lingaraj Temple Road, Talcher Road, Khurda Road, Kantabanji, Bargarh Road, Hirakud, Rairakhol, Barpali, Muniguda, Balangir, Harisankar Road, Mahasamund, Bhawanipatna, Khariar Road, Vizianagaram, Duvvada and Damanjodi.

Of 25 railway stations, while 11 railway stations (Sakhigopal, Mancheswar, Dhenkanal, Chantrapur, Angul, Palasa, Meramandali, Balugaon, Lingaraj Temple Road, Talcher Road, Khurda Road) will be upgraded under the scheme in Khurda Road division, another 11 railway stations (Kantabanji, Bargarh Road, Hirakud, Rairakhol, Barpali, Muniguda, Balangir, Harisankar Road, Mahasamund, Bhawanipatna, Khariar Road) will get a facelift in Sambalpur division and three railway stations (Vizianagaram Junction, Duvvada, Damanjodi) will be developed in Waltair railway division of ECoR.

Total Rs 547.7 crore will be spent for redevelopment of above 25 railway stations under ECoR.

The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme was launched to redevelop 1309 stations across the country.

As part of this scheme, Master Plans are being prepared for development of these stations as ‘City Centres’, with proper integration of both sides of the city. This integrated approach is driven by the holistic vision of overall urban development of the city, centred around the railway station.

According to reports, the 508 stations are spread across 27 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, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 21 each in Gujarat and Telangana, 20 in Jharkhand, 18 each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 15 in Haryana, 13 in Karnataka among others.

The redevelopment will provide modern passenger amenities along with ensuring well designed traffic circulation, inter-modal integration and well-designed signage for guidance of passengers. The design of the station buildings will be inspired by local culture, heritage and architecture.