The newly redeveloped Ayodhya Dham Junction railway station that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate on December 30 has been built at a cost of ₹240 crore.
“The new station building is three-storeyed having a footprint of 140 metres x 32.6 metres. An additional front porch of 140m x 12m is also provided over the drop-off zone to protect passengers from adverse weather conditions. Separate provisions for arrival and departure of passengers are in place,” said a senior railway official.
Also, Mr. Modi will dedicate the Rooma-Chakeri-Chandari Third Line Project in Uttar Pradesh, spanning 12.5 km and built at a cost of ₹182 crore. “This helps in decongesting the section and ensuring smooth rail operations. It increases sectional capacity and helps speed up transportation of commercial goods, which in turn promotes socio-economic development of the region,” the official said.
Besides, as a part of the Jaunpur-Ayodhya-Barabanki doubling project, a portion of the 152-km-long completed section will be inaugurated. The cost of the completed section is estimated at ₹1,919 crore. The completed section includes Jaunpur-Tulsi Nagar, Akbarpur-Ayodhya, Sohawal-Patranga, and Safdarjang-Rasauli.
Watch | Ayodhya railway station gets a revamp
“The benefits will include capacity augmentation to meet aspirations of pilgrims travelling to Ayodhya and Varanasi from northern, southern and western India, faster movement of coal to NTPC power plant at Tanda, punctual running of trains on Varanasi-Ayodhya-Lucknow sector with adequate corridor for maintenance of track, signalling, and other fixed assets, as well as development of remote regions in Jaunpur, Ambedkar Nagar, and Ayodhya districts of eastern U.P.,” the official said.
Mr. Modi will also inaugurate the doubling and electrification project of Malhaur-Daliganj section covering 12.62 km completed at a cost of ₹200 crore in Lucknow. “This helps in increasing rail network in U.P. and providing reliable as well as fast connectivity for passengers travelling to metropolitan areas,” the official said.
This aside, Mr. Modi will flag off two Amrit Bharat trains, which are superfast express intercity trains, between Darbhanga-Ayodhya-Anand Vihar and Malda Town-Bengaluru, as well as six new Vande Bharat trains linking Katra-Delhi; Amritsar-Delhi; Coimbatore-Bengaluru Cantonment; Mangalore-Madgaon; Jalna to Mumbai; and Ayodhya-Anand Vihar.
