What Is Amrit Bharat Station Scheme? Know All About Indian Railway’s Scheme To Develop Train Stations

Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw chaired a meeting of Consultative Committee of Members of Parliament for the Ministry of Railways on Thursday.

Two topics namely, Catering Services on Indian Railways, and Station Development on Indian Railways- Amrit Bharat Station Scheme were discussed in the meeting.

On the issue of catering services on Indian Railways, the members were told that approximately 1.8 crores passengers travel daily on Indian Railways and all efforts are being made to ensure provision and availability of adequate catering facilities in trains and stations for the travelling passengers.

The members were informed that 1275 railway stations will be taken up for upgradation/modernization under Amrit Bharat Station scheme.

According to an official statement, three stations viz: Rani Kamlapati in Madhya Pradesh, Gandhinagar in Gujarat and Sir M. Visvesvaraya Railway Station in Karnataka have been redeveloped/modernized so far.

"Based on the experience gained from these three stations, the Amrit Bharat Station scheme has been launched for development of stations on Indian Railways," the statement said. Let's take a look at the scheme in detail

Amrit Bharat Station scheme was launched by the Ministry of Railways in December 2022.

The purpose of the scheme is the development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach.

It involves the 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, toils, lift/escalators 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.

The scheme also anticipates the improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment-friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, ‘Roof Plazas’ as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centres at the station in the long term.