Kolkata, February 24, 2024

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is going to lay foundation stone for 28 stations over Eastern Railway (ER) under the 'Amrit Bharat Station Scheme' with the vision towards ‘Viksit Rail, Viksit Bharat 2047’ at a cost of ₹ 704 crore on  February 26, 2024.

Before that, Shri Milind K Deouskar, General Manager/ Eastern Railway in a Press Meet today at the ER Headquarters, Kolkata briefed media people about the ongoing development work of ER in particular and about the redevelopment of stations and construction of Road Overbridges (ROBs)/ underpasses over Indian Railways in general for ease of movement as well as providing more facilities and amenities to the passengers. The General Manager, ER answered in detail all the queries of the media representatives present at the Press Meet.

Shri Deouskar stated, ER is committed to providing modern amenities and world-class facilities to train passengers, aligning with global standards. In line with this vision, Eastern Railway has undertaken the redevelopment of several stations across its Sealdah, Howrah, Asansol, and Malda divisions. The Ministry of Railways has launched ‘Amrit Bharat Station scheme’ for development of Stations on Indian Railways. This scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach. It 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 such station.  Notably, under the 'Amrit Bharat Station Scheme,' selected stations in the selected divisions will receive upgraded passenger facilities, including wide foot-over bridges (FOBs), frontage improvements, spacious waiting areas, surveillance through CCTV cameras, food kiosks, divyangjan friendly toilets, ramps, signages and escalators.

According to the ER General Manager, Eastern Railway has recently completed construction of 11 Underpasses and is going to construct 22 Underpasses at a total cost of Rs. 123.52 crores. Among these Underpasses of Eastern Railway, 10 are in West Bengal of which, the Prime Minister is going to lay foundation stone for four underpasses and six will be dedicated to the nation. A total cost of these 10 Underpasses of ER in West Bengal is Rs. 41.44 crores, he said. Among the 10 underpasses of ER in West Bengal, four are in Bandel – Katwa section, four in New Farakka – Azimganj and two in Krishnanagar – Lalgola section.

At present there are 1017 level crossing gates in ER of which 844 level crossings are in West Bengal. If the detention for road traffic jams and other causes may be average to 5 minutes, the cumulative effect of which will considerably increase journey time for both Railways & road traffic. By eliminating the level crossing gates with road overbridges and underpasses, ER is committed to bring ease of movement for the rail passengers as well as road users.

The Prime Minister is going to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for 1585 underpasses over Indian Railways of which 31 underpasses belong to the ER jurisdiction. All the underpasses are constructed with a sufficient height of minimum 4 metres so that any cart loaded with paddy bundles can easily pass through thereby facilitating ease of living for the villagers and they can pass with their produce from one side of the Railway track to the other side comfortably.

*******************

SSS/24.2.24/

(Release ID: 2008719)