The Railways will invest ₹24,000 crore to provide a facelift to 508 stations across the country. The 500-odd stations, out of some 1,300, are part of the Amrit Bharat Station scheme. The facelift project is expected to be completed over the next 1–2 years.

Facelift across some 30-odd stations have already begun; and this includes foundation stone laying, carrying out construction and civil work.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be laying the foundation stone to carry out the facelift of these 500–odd stations.

The first phase of the facelift programme will cover 16 stations in Andhra Pradesh, 32 in Assam, 49 in Bihar, 21 in Gujarat, 15 in Haryana, 34 in Madhya Pradesh, 44 in Maharashtra, 55 in Rajasthan, 25 in Odisha, 22 in Punjab, 18 in Tamil Nadu, 21 in Telangana, 55 in Uttar Pradesh, 37 in West Bengal, among other States Meghalaya, Puducherry, Tripura, Himachal, J&K and Chandigarh.

The facelift covers all stations, large, small, and otherwise.

A second phase of the project, covering other stations that do not find mention in Phase 1 will also be explored at a later stage.

According to Railways Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, improving passenger amenities is a major focus of the government.

“The Prime Minister is personally monitoring the programme of the Railways from time to time. He has given his inputs in design of stations too,” Vaishnaw said.

The facilities intended to be implemented at the stations include foot-overbridges, escalators and elevators, two-wheeler and car parking areas, landscaping, integrated passenger information system, signage, improvement of platform and platform shelters, benches and washbasins, better illumination and power supply arrangements, and CCTV, among others.

City side developments, and co-ordination with ongoing Smart City projects is also being carried out.

The facelift projects will also look at developing Railways as a multi-modal hub.

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