Jodhpur (Rajasthan) [India], May 5 (ANI): Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday inspected the ongoing reconstruction work at Jodhpur railway station, which is being upgraded under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
Talking about the historic significance of the station, Vaishnaw mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved its ‘world-class development.’ He noted that the reconstruction aims to solve two persistent problems which were there, one being having an additional entrance as the city has expanded a lot, and the second being the problem of parking and traffic congestion, which will be solved with an elevated road and more parking.
“Jodhpur’s railway station is a historic railway station. To maintain this historic site, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved for its world-class development. The two big issues which were there, as the city has expanded a lot, we needed to make a good second entry too. The second thing was traffic, to get relief from it, there is a proposal for an elevated road here,” Vaishnaw said while inspecting the site.
He further shared plans for improved passenger amenities, stating, “There is going to be a lot of parking space, and a beautiful concourse, roof plaza will be made so that people can sit peacefully. The local products will be available too like makhan bhog, lassi, gulab jamun, so that people can enjoy that. People who come from far away, too.”
Vaishnaw also announced plans to construct a cargo terminal near Bhagat Ki Kothi to facilitate industrial exports from Jodhpur.
“Similarly, for the industry too, a good cargo terminal is being made for the industry near Bhagat ki Koti. That will be a good facility too, as a lot of exports happen from Jodhpur too,” the Railway Minister said.
He mentioned that Rajasthan currently has a budgetary allocation of Rs 10 thousand crore, while around Rs 44 thousand crores worth of projects are currently ongoing.
“In Rajasthan, too, under the leadership of PM Modi, the railway budget for Rajasthan has increased. Nowadays, Rajasthan gets around 10 thousand crore of the railway budget. During Congress’ time, there was only 500-600 crore given, and it has benefited a lot too. If I give details of the last 10 years, then 3 thousand 784 kilometres of tracks have been made. Electrification is completed, and 84 stations are being reconstructed under the Amrit station,” Vaishnaw said.
Blaming the Congress for mismanaging upgradation of railway station, he said that before stations only used to get repainted and renamed, but PM Modi keeps a 50 year vision for the stations, which he ensures is carried out by other ministers.
“During Congress’ time, the station was only used to get painted, and a new name was given, but Modiji is thinking about the next 50 years. He tells us the same too, to think ahead and not only upgrade but reconstruct the station,” he said.
Talking about the ongoing projects in the state, he added, “Around 44 thousand crore worth of railway projects are ongoing in Rajasthan. A new line was sanctioned from Pushkar to Merta, then connectivity from Ambaji to Abu Road till Taranga hill. Then doubling work from Luni to Samdari.”
The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme signifies a concerted effort by Indian Railways to modernise its infrastructure in order to elevate the travel experience for millions of passengers. The Centre’s ambitious plan is for transforming more than 1300 railway stations in the country, which got a boost after the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 553 railway stations on February 26, 2024, according to a statement from the Railway Ministry.
The Ministry’s statement read, Among the stations being taken up for redevelopment under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, Uttar Pradesh has the maximum number of 149 railway stations, followed by Maharashtra 123, West Bengal 94, Gujarat 87, Bihar 86, Rajasthan 85 and Madhya Pradesh 80. Some of the important stations in Rajasthan up for redevelopment are Abu Road, Ajmer, Alwar, Bharatpur, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Bundi, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur and some smaller ones, including Deeg, Sawai Madhopur, Pali, Jhunjhunu, etc. (ANI)
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