Assam: 32 Railway Stations Set To Be Revamped Under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme

To further enhance railway facilities in Assam and other Northeastern states, an amount of Rs 10,269 crore has been allocated to the railway budget for 2023-24.

File photo of Guwahati railway station in Assam.

Source : Getty Images

Guwahati: As many as 32 railway stations across Assam are set to receive a major facelift under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme at a cost of Rs 990.2 crore. The revamping of these stations is likely to provide modern state-of-the-art amenities to the railway passengers of Assam.

To further enhance railway facilities in Assam and other Northeastern states, an amount of Rs 10,269 crore has been allocated to the railway budget for 2023-24. This is an increase of 384% compared to the average allotment of Rs 2,122 crore during 2009-14, a statement of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) stated.

These stations will have facilities like terrace plazas, retiring rooms, food court, and waiting rooms for the convenience of passengers travelling by train. Divyang (differently abled) -friendly ramps and other modern amenities like lifts and escalators will also be provided, the NFR statement read.

Improved parking facilities with segregation of incoming and outgoing vehicles will also be arranged. In view of the environmental scenario of Assam, these railway stations will be redeveloped as green buildings and arrangements for solar energy and water conservation systems will be installed, the statement added.

Apart from this, the redeveloped stations will boost connectivity between the major cities of the state. This will play a key role in enhancing economic activities thereby generating employment in the state, the statement added.

The 32 stations set to get the revamp are Dhubri, Fakiragram Junction, Kokrajhar, Gossaigaon Hat, Gauripur, Lumding Junction, New Haflong, Diphu, Chaparmukh Junction, Jagiroad, Sarupather, Narangi, Hojai, Lanka, New Karimganj Junction, Arunachal, Rangapara North Junction, New Bongaigaon Junction, Rangiya Junction, Mariani, Dibrugarh, Jorhat Town, Makum Junction, Margherita, Amguri, Naharkatiya, Tinsukia, Duliajan, Simaluguri, New Tinsukia, Namrup, and Sivasagar Town.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 6 laid the foundation stones for the redevelopment of a total of 508 railway stations across the country. PM Modi said that work for the modernisation of railways stations in the Northeastern states is going on at a rapid pace, with the doubling of railway tracks, gauge conversion, electrification, and new routes.

The Prime Minister said that all state capitals of the Northeast will be connected by railway network and work on commissioning of new lines in the region has increased by three times.

The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme aims to redevelop a total of 1,309 railway stations nationwide. The scheme was launched in February this year by the Ministry of Railways.