From roof plazas to city centres: All about Amrit Bharat Station Scheme that aims to modernise India's railway stations

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Indian Railways is one of the busiest and oldest railway systems in the world with over 3.52 billion passengers and 1512 MT of freight in 2023. The Railways is aptly named the lifeline of India as it runs over 13,000 trains every day covering 7,325 stations across India. To keep this vast machine well oiled, the Railwasy launched the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme to redevelop 1309 stations nationwide.

Under the scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations across the country on August 6. According to the Indian railways, the scheme aims to enhance the facilities at the railway stations with modern infrastructures as roof plazas and city centres at the stations. The government has allocated more than Rs 24,470 crore for the scheme.

The Railways is also creating Master Plans 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. Among other things, the scheme aims to create dedicated spaces in railway stations fo «Executive Lounges and places for small business meetings».

To ensure smooth access, it also proposes widening of roads, removal of unwanted structures, properly designed signages, dedicated pedestrian pathways, well planned parking areas, improved lighting etc. The scheme envisages high level platforms(760-840 mm) at all categories of stations. According to the scheme, length of the platforms shall generally be 600m.