Modi lays foundation stone for development of 508 railway stations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone for redevelopment of 508 railway stations across the country. Around 1300 stations will be modernised under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) for over Rs 24,470 crores. The PM informed that the length of tracks laid in the country over the last nine years is more than the combined railway network in South Africa, Ukraine, Poland, the United Kingdom (UK) and Sweden. Under the redevelopment project, authorities will remove unwanted structures from these stations, and ensure better circulating areas. The stations will also boast of newly designed buildings and upgraded parking areas. The facilities planned under ABSS include smooth access to railway stations, improved lighting, better circulating areas, upgraded parking spaces, divyangjan (differently- abled) friendly infrastructure, and environmentally conducive buildings by using green or renewable energy. These stations are spread across 27 states and union territories, including 55 each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, 49 in Bihar, 44 in Maharashtra, 37 in West Bengal, and 34 in Madhya Pradesh. There are 32 stations in Assam, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 21 each in Gujarat and Telangana, 20 in Jharkhand, 18 each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 15 in Haryana, and 13 in Karnataka among others.