Amrit Bharat: Modi lays stone for redevelopment of 508 railway stations; 21 in TS, 18 in AP

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations across the country via video conferencing on Sunday. This included 21 stations in Telangana and 18 in Andhra Pradesh.

The redevelopment project of these 508 stations — named Amrit Bharat Stations — is set to cost more than Rs 24,470 crores. Including the ones in Telangana and AP, the stations are spread across 27 states and Union Territories; 55 each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 49 in Bihar, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 21 in Gujarat, 20 in Jharkhand, 18 in Tamil Nadu, 15 in Haryana, and 13 in Karnataka among others.

PM Modi said that almost 1,300 prime railway stations in the country will later be redeveloped with will get a new lease of life as ‘Amrit Bharat Stations.’

Modi said that in the last nine years, the length of track laid in the country is more than the combined railway network in South Africa, Ukraine, Poland, the UK and Sweden. Putting the scale of expansion in Indian railways in perspective, the prime minister said that last year alone, India laid more railway tracks than the combined railway network of South Korea, New Zealand and Australia.

“These Amrit Bharat Stations will be a symbol of one’s pride in one’s heritage in every citizen,” Modi said. Giving examples, the PM said that Jaipur railway stations will have glimpses of Hawa Mahal and Amer Fort from Rajasthan, Jammu Tawi Railway Station in Jammu and Kashmir will be inspired by the famous Raghunath Mandir and Dimapur Station of Nagaland will showcase the local architecture of 16 different tribes from the region. The PM also mentioned strengthening the ‘Bharat Gaurav Yatra Trains’ which connects places of historical relevance and pilgrimages.

Economic growth

Underlining the railways’ role in giving momentum to the economic growth of the country, the PM said that record investment has been done in railways. “This year, railways received a budget of more than Rs 2.5 lakh crores, a five-fold increase as compared to 2014. Work is being done for the complete development of railways with a holistic approach. Locomotive production increased by nine times in the last nine years,” he said.

Talking about the railway extension in the Northeast, the prime minister said, work is going on rapidly on doubling of the lines, gauge conversion, electrification and new routes. “Soon, all state capitals of the Northeast will be connected by railway network”, he said. He said that Nagaland got its second station after 100 years.

The PM said that in the last nine years more than 2,200 km dedicated freight corridors have been constructed leading to a reduction in the travel time of the goods train. Now goods reach western ports from Delhi NCR in 24 hours, a task that used to take 72 hours.

Improvement in bridges

The PM said that there were less than 6,000 railway overbridges and underbridges before 2014, but today, that number has gone beyond 10,000. He also mentioned that the number of unmanned level crossings on large lines is now down to zero.

“Our emphasis is on making Indian Railways modern as well as environment friendly”, the PM said as he said that 100% rail line electrification will be achieved very soon. He also mentioned that LED lights have been installed in about 70,000 coaches and the number of bio-toilets in trains has increased 28 times as compared to 2014. “By 2030, India will be a country whose railway network will run on net zero emissions”, he added.

Creating employment

Highlighting that railways have provided jobs to more than 1.5 lakh youths, the PM said that employment is also being created by investing lakhs of crores in infrastructure. “The central government is also running a campaign to provide jobs to 10 lakh youths through Rozgar Mela,” he said.

Increase in tax income

The PM underlined that the government has changed the perception that the tax paid by citizens is squandered in corruption and today people feel that their money is being used for nation-building. He said that the amount of income tax collected in the country is increasing, sending a clear message that the scope of the middle class in the country is continuously increasing. He informed that the number of people filing income tax returns has increased by 16% this year which shows the growth of trust in the government and the innovation taking place in the country.