
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the foundation stone laying ceremony for 550 Amrit Bharat stations on February 26. These stations aim to enhance facilities by establishing rooftop plazas and city centers, with an allocated budget of Rs 40,000 crore. Additionally, the Prime Minister will also initiate the foundation stone laying for approximately 1,500 road overbridges and underbridges across various states. This event will be conducted virtually at over 2,000 railway stations, with the Prime Minister participating via video conferencing.
During the ceremony, recognition will be extended to approximately 50,000 school students who engaged in speech, essay, and poetry writing competitions themed around ‘2047 – Viksit Bharat ki Railway’. These competitions, organized by Indian Railways across 4,000 schools, garnered participation from nearly four lakh students. Divisional railway managers and senior railway officers will present about 50,000 prizes to the winners.
The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, initiated for the enhancement of Indian Railways stations, encompasses the formulation and implementation of master plans in phases. Its objectives include improving station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators, cleanliness, free WiFi, and promoting local products through initiatives like ‘One Station, One Product’. Additionally, the scheme aims to establish executive lounges, spaces for business meetings, and landscaping at stations.
Furthermore, the scheme emphasizes infrastructure improvement, integration with city surroundings, multimodal connectivity, amenities for persons with disabilities, and provision for ballastless tracks. It advocates for the creation of city centers at stations in the long term, prioritizing sustainability and environmental considerations. Measures such as widening roads, removing unwanted structures, installing signages, creating pedestrian pathways, organizing parking areas, and enhancing lighting are proposed for smooth access.
The scheme underscores the installation of high-level platforms (760-840 millimeters) across all station categories, with platform lengths generally set at 600 meters. Currently, 1,318 stations have been identified under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, with selections based on proposals from zonal railways, prioritizing stations in major urban centers.