Union Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the Railways has undertaken the redevelopment of 199 railway stations across the country with the concept of intelligent building. Out of these stations selected for redevelopment, tenders have been issued for 47 stations and master planning as well as design for the remaining is underway. Work is progressing fast for 32 stations, he said, on Monday.
Addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone for development of coach maintenance facilities at Jalna Railway station in the presence of Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Patil Danve, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad and others, he said that 400 new high-speed ‘Vande Bharat’ trains will soon be introduced. Out of these, 100 trains will be manufactured at Rail Coach Factory in Latur, Maharashtra.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision is of transforming Indian Railways on par with world class infrastructure and facilities, which will be pertinent to the development of the nation even upto the next 50 years. Jalna station will be developed with the theme of ‘Ganpati Mandir’ which is very famous in the area so as to uphold the local culture and heritage, he said.
The station will soon have spacious roof plaza which includes all passenger amenities at one place along with spaces for retail, cafeterias, recreational facilities. Facilities like food court, waiting lounge, playing area for children, place for local products, etc will also be available, the Minister informed. This will not only strengthen Rail infrastructure in Marathwada but will also pave the way for development of various other industries and provide more employment opportunities, he stated.
Development of new coach maintenance facilities will also enhance the potential to operate more number of passenger and parcel trains. Mr. Patil Danve said Centre has given ₹11,000 crore in railway budget for Maharashtra and several major projects have been undertaken. SCR General Manager in charge Arun Kumar Jain said ₹92 crore was being spent for development of coach repair facilities. Other senior officials were present including DRM Nanded division Upinder Singh, said a press release.
