Indian Railways upgrading 90 stations to showcase the local culture

In an attempt to increase passenger amenities and to give an aesthetic makeover to the most visited stations across Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways has formulated the plan to redevelop 90 stations across Indian Railways. The redevelopment plan of 90 stations is assigned to different zones/ nodal agencies. Given that some stations are important pilgrimage hubs and report over 45,000 footfalls per day, Indian Railways would strive to ensure that passenger’s get best services at the stations even during peak seasons.

It may be noted that Indian Railways is in the process of redevelopment of more than 600 stations. While doing this, efforts would be made to showcase local culture or history to reflect in the station façade. For instance Aurangabad station is to be developed on lines of Ajantha or Ellora, Agra station is to be developed on lines of Taj Mahal, Ujjain station is to be developed on lines of Mahakaleshwar temples, Nagpur station to have a big orange in the premises. Since Belgaum has history of Mahatma Gandhi visiting there, Belgaum station to have a big Charkha at the front. Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) is keeping elements of local heritage in facade/redevelopment of station buildings. For instance in Charbagh (Lucknow) elements of existing heritage building are incorporated in second entry NE Rly station, similarly in Gomti Nagar, elements of Awadh culture with Jali wok has been incorporated, in Triputi station, Lord Tirumala temple design has been incorporated, in Pondicherry, French colonial architectural elements are provided. Similar action will be taken for Goa Kota Nellore Ernakulam stations.

List of Stations to be upgraded: