Amritsar station to be world class, minister tells Aujla

In answer to a question put up by Lok Sabha member from Amritsar Gurjit Singh Aujla, the Union Minister for Railways stated that Amritsar has been identified as one the stations to be developed under ‘Amrit Bharat Station Scheme’. The minister stated that the scheme involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift and 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. Aujla has asked whether the government has any plans to modernise and develop Amritsar railway station into a world-class facility, and if so, the details on planned developments, funding allocations or timelines for the modernisation.

The reply stated that 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, identification of areas for property development and creation of city centres at the station in the long term.

The minister added that the Amritsar railway station is in the master planning stage. Master planning is an iterative process requiring optimisation and the details and time-frame for such optimisation cannot be provided at this stage, the reply added.