Infra push: 15 railway stations in Haryana set to be upgraded

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Ambala, August 6

In a major plan to boost the passenger amenities, as many as 15 railway stations of the state will be upgraded at a cost of Rs 608 crore under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme of the Union Government.

Haryana’s Ambala City, Bhiwani Junction, Faridabad, Pataudi Road, Hisar, Bahadurgarh, Jind Junction, Narwana Junction, Narnaul, Kalka, Rewari junction, Rohtak, Sirsa, Sonepat junction and Yamunanagar-Jagadhari were among the 508 railway stations across the country where Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stones for the upgradation work through video conferencing on Sunday.

Several cabinet ministers, MPs and local MLAs attended the events in their respective constituencies.

Modernisation and redevelopment of the stations under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme would include development of stations as city centres, integration of both sides of the cities, improvement of facade, aesthetically improved porches, de-cluttering of circulating area, landscaping, improved toilets, signages with better visibility, divyang-friendly pathways, creating enabling platform for roof plaza with large-scale development, improved station approaches to ensure smooth access, improvement in passenger amenities, improved drainage and good furniture at waiting rooms.

The scheme aims to carry out the work in a cost-efficient manner so that the space is released for higher priority passenger-related activities and is properly utilized, so that future development is carried out smoothly. The work will be completed within next six to eight months.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who attended the event at the Chandigarh railway station, said: “In the first phase, 15 stations of Haryana are being redeveloped, and 34 stations of the state will be included in the second phase of the scheme. A budget of Rs 2,247 crore was allocated for Haryana under the 2023-24 budget. The Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Authority (HRIDA) has been constituted to strengthen the railway system.”

“The country’s first 5-km elevated railway track has been built in Rohtak and the work on the elevated railway track at Kurukshetra is near completion and the detailed project report (DPR) for Kaithal has been prepared. The Haryana Orbit Railway Corridor from Palwal to Sonepat has been approved. Apart from this, metro connectivity is also being expanded,” he added.