From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI, July 24: The central government has announced the re-development of Meghalaya’s lone railway station, Mendipathar Railway Station, as part of Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
This was informed by the Union Minister for Railways & Information & Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, on Wednesday.
Along with Mendipathar Railway Station, 59 more railway stations, mostly in Assam, will also be re-developed as Amrit Stations by the central government.
Meanwhile, the union minister also informed that the gross budgetary allocation for railway infrastructure projects in the Northeast for the financial year 2024-25 is Rs 10,369 crore, which is higher than last fiscal, and many new projects have been approved for the region.
Launched last year, the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is a significant railway mission of the central government aimed at redeveloping 1,275 stations across India, equipping them with world-class facilities. This initiative supports and benefits from key Government of India schemes such as BharatNet, One Station One Product, Make in India, Startup India, Standup India, industrial corridors, Bharatmala, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India, and Sagarmala.
Assam, boasting the most extensive railway network in the Northeast, will see 49 stations upgraded under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, followed by four in Tripura, and one each in the other six northeastern states, including Mendipathar in Meghalaya.
The ‘One Station One Product’ (OSOP) stalls, operational across the Northeast Frontier Railway, provide a direct market for locally produced items, receiving positive feedback from passengers. All these stations are set to offer international standard facilities.
During a media interaction, the union minister mentioned that the three major railway corridor programs — energy, mineral, and cement — announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech, will be implemented.
“The cement corridor, port-connectivity corridor and high-traffic density corridor will improve logistics efficiency and reduce transportation cost, which will further lend itself to improving passenger safety as well,” Vaishnaw said.
He noted that despite the challenging topography of the Northeast, physical progress on all ongoing projects is advancing well.
The Railway Minister also highlighted a substantial investment of Rs 81,941 crore for developing railway infrastructure in the Northeastern region.
The annual average railway budget has increased fivefold from Rs 2,122 crore in 2009-14 to Rs 10,376 crore in the current fiscal year. The region has seen the addition of 173 km of new tracks and 142 km of electrification from 2014-24, surpassing previous records. There are currently 18 ongoing projects spanning 1,368 km at a cost of Rs 74,972 crore.
This year’s budget allocation shows a significant growth in various segments, including new line and doubling projects, track renewal works, traffic facilities, road safety works, bridge works, signaling, workshop modernisation and customer amenities, the union minister added.