New Delhi: Modernisation/upgradation of Railway station in Indian Railways is a continuous and on-going process. This has been undertaken from time to time under various modernization schemes such as Model Station Scheme, Modern Station Scheme and Adarsh Station Scheme. The ‘Model Station Scheme’ (June, 1999 to November, 2008) and the ‘Modern Station Scheme’ (2006-07 and 2007-08) have since been discontinued.
At present, upgradation of stations is undertaken under Adarsh Station Scheme. Selection of Railway stations under Adarsh Station Scheme is based on the identified need for upgradation of amenities. 1253 stations have been identified for development under Adarsh station Scheme out of which 1103 railway stations have been developed so far and the remaining stations are planned to be developed by 2019-20.
Besides there are other policies initiatives by Indian Railways to provide improved facilities at all stations. 68 stations have been identified for soft upgradation and all 68 stations have been upgraded in the year 2018-19.
Recently, a separate policy has been made for development of stations under Station Redevelopment Programme through Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC) on ‘as is where is’ basis. Government has approved Railways’ proposal for redevelopment of railway stations by IRSDC as Nodal Agency, through simplified procedures and for longer lease tenure. Accordingly, all the stations on Indian Railways have been entrusted to IRSDC and other Government agencies for undertaking the techno-economic feasibility studies. Based on the outcome of the feasibility studies, stations are planned to be taken up for redevelopment in phases especially the stations located in major cities, pilgrimage centres and important tourist destinations. Redevelopment of stations is planned though leveraging of commercial development of vacant land/air space in and around stations. Presently, work of redevelopment is in progress at Gandhinagar (Gujrat) and Habibganj (Madhya Pradesh) stations. Contracts for redevelopment have been awarded for Gomtinagar, Charbagh (Uttar Pradesh) and Puducherry (Union Territory of Puducherry ) stations.
Construction and Modernization of all the railway stations in the country is a need based ongoing process subject to commercial justification, operational requirement, technical feasibility and resource availability.
This information was given by the Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Comments are closed.