Paschim Bardhaman (West Bengal) [India], May 21 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate the redeveloped Panagarh railway station in West Bengal on Thursday under the Amrit Bharat Station Yojana, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Asansol Division confirmed on Wednesday.
"Prime Minister will be virtually inaugurating the station on May 22. We have made this building you are seeing under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme, and the platform has been modernised too," the Asansol Division's PRO, Biplab Bauri told ANI.
He said earlier there were no coach indication facilities, but these have now been installed. Several passenger demands--especially from women, the elderly, and Divyangjan--have been addressed by installing lifts on both platforms.
"The elderly, women, and the divyang (disabled) people used to face problems walking the long way and climbing up and down for the platform, so keeping that in mind, we have installed a lift facility for the platforms. The lifts have a 13 passenger capacity each. Additionally the building has been modernised too, with signs improved and ATVM machines installed," the PRO said.
Under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, stations have been upgraded with modern amenities to enhance commuter experience. The redeveloped Panagarh station now includes two lifts, a new ticket counter, ATVMs, a renovated platform surface, a waiting room, parking areas, better signage, and a new foot overbridge.
In line with his vision to strengthen rail infrastructure, Prime Minister Modi will also inaugurate 103 redeveloped Amrit stations across 86 districts in 18 states and Union Territories. These projects have been developed at a cost of over Rs 1,100 crore.
On Thursday, PM Modi will also travel to Rajasthan to lay the foundation stone, inaugurate and dedicate to the nation multiple development projects worth over Rs 26,000 crore in Bikaner's Deshnoke.
The Prime Minister will inaugurate the redeveloped Deshnoke Station under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme and flag off the Bikaner-Mumbai express train. Thereafter, he will lay the foundation stone, inaugurate and dedicate to the nation multiple development projects worth over Rs 26,000 crore and also address a public function in Deshnoke, a statement from the PMO said.
The redeveloped Amrit stations across India integrate modern infrastructure with cultural heritage, passenger-centric amenities, including those for Divyangjan and sustainable practices to enhance the travel experience.
Notably, Indian Railways is marching towards 100 per cent electrification of its network, making railway operations more efficient and environment-friendly. In line with this, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of the Churu-Sadulpur rail line (58 km) and dedicate to the Nation Suratgarh-Phalodi (336 km); Phulera-Degana (109 km); Udaipur-Himmatnagar (210 km); Phalodi-Jaisalmer (157 km) and Samdari-Barmer (129 km) rail line electrification.