To ‘meet passengers’ expectation of better services at stations’, Indian Railways has decided to construct multi-functional complexes at 198 railway stations.
The complexes will provide rail users with facilities like shops, food stalls/restaurants, book stalls, PCO booths, ATMs, medicine and variety stores, budget hotels, parking facilities etc, Minister of State for Railways, K. H. Muniyappa said.
A senior Railway Ministry official said:
“The aim is to upgrade the amenities for the rail users in cities having tourist and religious importance by way of developing the land/air space at railway stations.”
The railways has also planned budget hotels at 24 stations including, Alipurduar Junction, Kurukshetra, Madurai Junction and Tiruchchirapalli.
Apart from developing hotels, Indian Railways has introduced a pan-India, multi-purpose Go-India smart card on a pilot basis on the Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Howrah routes and have also installed anti collision devices (ACD) on 548 locomotives on Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) covering a covering 1736 Route Km.
Railways has also sanctioned ACD works on 5160 km routes on Eastern, South Eastern, East Central and East Coast Railways during last three years and will be taken up for implementation with new ACD Version-II.
