South Eastern Railway passengers are set to enjoy top-class passenger amenities and world class travel experience soon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to lay the foundation stone of redevelopment of 22 stations, under the Amrit Bharat scheme in West Bengal under the South Eastern Railway on 26 February, virtually.

The Indian Railway has identified 71 stations of the SER for redevelopment under the Amrit Bharat scheme. According to the general manager of the South Eastern Railway, Anil Kumar Mishra, 46 stations will have their foundation stones laid by the PM on 26 February. The 46 stations, spanning three states, West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand, are to be redeveloped at the cost of Rs 1416.92 crore. Of these, the 22 stations in West Bengal will be redeveloped at a cost of Rs 597.15 crore. “We are targeting to complete the redevelopment works under the redevelopment programme in the next one to two years,” underscored the GM.

As informed by the CPRO of the SER, Aditya Kumar Chaudhary, the stations in the state picked up for the redevelopment project include Adra, Bankura, Bishnupur, Purulia among others. “Apart from 22 Amrit Bharat stations, the PM is also scheduled to dedicate 41 road-over bridges and road-under bridges costing Rs 492.05 crore,” informed the CPRO.

As elaborated by Mr Mishra, Bengal has received an allocation of Rs 13,810 crore in the recently-announced Union budget. “The fund allocation for the SER in West Bengal was Rs 1,791 crore.  The Kharagpur station, which is a crucial station, has a project cost of Rs 112 crore,” he added.

Elaborating on the redevelopment works of other crucial railway stations of the zonal railway, the GM said, “Santragachi and Shalimar are very important stations. We are aiming to commission both the stations by December 2024. At Santragachi, there would be eight platforms of full length accommodating 24 coaches. The main station building having a G+ five structure would also be functional. The road-over bridge of the station would be done after the completion of the works on Kona Expressway. At Shalimar, there are three platforms while two more would be added. There are also plans of constructing a depot for the maintenance of Vande Bharat trains at the station.”