Rs 899 crore to be spent on upgrade of 16 railway stations: Ambala DRM

Ambala, August 4

Around Rs 899 crore will be spent on upgrading 16 railway stations under the Ambala Division.

While 15 stations, including those at Saharanpur, Kalka, Malerkotla, Yamunanagar Jagadhri, Patiala, Sirhind, Ambala City, SAS Nagar, Dhuri, Abohar, Anandpur Sahib, Sangrur, Nangal Dam, Rupnagar and Amb Andauruam, will be developed at a cost of around Rs 388 crore under the Amrit Bharat station scheme, the Chandigarh railway station is being redeveloped as world-class facility at a cost of Rs 511 crore.

Mandeep Singh Bhatia, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Ambala Division, said, “As many as 15 stations were identified under the Amrit Bharat scheme. Consultants were hired and they submitted their concept plans. On the basis of their plans, budgets of civil, electrical, signal and telecom and other branches were worked out and open tenders were floated. These stations will be developed at a cost of Rs 387.87 crore.”

He added that the Chandigarh junction was being remodelled at a cost of Rs 511 crore.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually lay the foundation stone of upgrade work of as many as 508 stations of the Indian Railways on August 6. Sixteen of these stations are under the Ambala Division,” he added.

Modernisation and redevelopment of the stations would include improvement of facade, aesthetically improved porches, upgrade of waiting halls, de-cluttering of circulating area, landscaping, improved toilets, making stations divyang-friendly, installation of lifts and escalators, aesthetically designed signages with better visibility, provision of free Wi-Fi and gradual shift towards sustainable and environment friendly solutions.