Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], April 19 (ANI): Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday reviewed the ongoing redevelopment work at Bhubaneswar Railway Station and interacted with passengers to assess facilities on the ground.
During the inspection, the minister highlighted the scale of railway station upgrades across the country. “Over 1,300 railway stations are being renovated across the country. Bhubaneswar station is very well built. From a passenger’s perspective, it offers a very good waiting area. You can see the entire elevated waiting area. It’s a complete concourse, just like the ones at an airport. It’s a very good facility for passengers, designed for the next 50 years. I spoke with several passengers, and they were very happy. Everyone said it makes commuting much easier,” he told ANI.
Indian Railways is redeveloping more than 1,300 stations under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. The initiative aims to improve passenger facilities through better infrastructure, accessibility and modern amenities. The scheme follows a need-based approach and seeks to support regional growth, tourism and smoother mobility.
In Odisha, 59 railway stations have been identified for redevelopment under the scheme, including key stations such as Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Rourkela and Sambalpur.
Earlier, in a reply to BJP MP Ananta Nayak during the 2024 budget session, Vaishnaw had outlined the scope of the scheme, stating, “This scheme involves preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’, better passenger information systems, Executive Lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station.”
He added, “The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks etc., as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centres at the station in the long term.”
Vaishnaw further informed that 1,324 railway stations have been identified under the scheme nationwide, out of which 59 are in Odisha. He also noted that funding for such projects is maintained zonal railway-wise under Plan Head-53 ‘Customer Amenities’.
According to the Minister, Odisha falls under three railway zones — East Coast Railway, South Eastern Railway and South East Central Railway.
Earlier, Vaishnaw called the foundation laying of a semiconductor plant in Odisha a “historic day” and said the state is emerging as a key hub for advanced technology and electronics manufacturing, an “IT hub”, in India.
Speaking to ANI, the Union Minister highlighted Odisha’s rapid industrial transformation.
He said, “It is indeed a very important day, a historical day today for Odisha because the semiconductor plant foundation will be done today. It’s very important for Odisha to have a world-class, latest technology industry here. Odisha is now becoming an IT hub. It is becoming an electronics manufacturing hub. It is diversifying from metals and minerals to many new industrial bases.” (ANI)