New Delhi, Feb 5 || Work on the redevelopment of 172 railway stations has been completed under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, which aims to improve access to stations and circulating areas, integrate stations with both sides of the city and improve the building as well waiting halls and toilets to provide better amenities to passengers, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.
The scheme also provides for wider foot over bridges commensurate with passenger traffic, escalators and lifts, better parking areas and passenger information systems. Besides, better parking areas, multimodal integration and kiosks for the sale of goods to passengers are included in the list of amenities.
The scheme also envisages sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, phasing and feasibility and creation of a city centre at the station in the long term. So far, 1,337 stations have been identified for development under this scheme, Vaishnaw said in a written reply to questions in Lok Sabha.
The minister further stated that Indian Railways accords high priority to safety of bridges across the country and as many as 8,626 railway bridges have been repaired, strengthened and rebuilt during 2022-2025 (up to December 2025).