The Indian Railways is taking a lot of measures to improve passenger amenities and other safety measures. Improvement of railway stations is also being given due importance in the country.
As many as 57 railway stations have been identified for redevelopment, informed Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
As per PIB report, the Ministry of Railways is undertaking techno-economic feasibility studies for redevelopment of railway stations. Based on the outcome of these feasibility studies, stations are planned to be taken up for redevelopment in phases, especially the stations located in major cities and important tourist destination.
Work for redevelopment has been taken up at 43 stations while 21 stations are at different stages of tendering and planning on Indian Railways. 57 stations have been identified for redevelopment under ‘Major Upgradation of Railway Stations’ on Indian Railways including Gaya, Bapudham Motihari and Muzaffarpur Railway stations in the state of Bihar. Three railway stations viz. Rani Kamlapati Railway Station (Madhya Pradesh), Gandhinagar Railway Station (Gujarat) and Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal (Karnataka) have been developed and commissioned, the report said.
The modernization and upgradation of railway stations and amenities is a continuous and ongoing process.
It is pertinent to pertinent to mention here that the Ministry of Railways has launched ‘One Station One Product’ (OSOP) scheme to promote ‘Vocal for Local’ vision of the Government of India. It is providing a market for local/indigenous products and create additional income opportunities for the marginalised sections of society.
The pilot of the scheme was started on launched on March 25, 2022, and presently 535 stations are covered with 572 OSOP outlets. Product categories under this scheme include:
Handicrafts/ Artefacts
Textiles and Handlooms
Traditional Garments
Local agricultural produce/ Processed/semi processed foods