PM Modi to inaugurate redeveloped Gandhinagar Railway Station on Friday

The station is future ready, and the concourse will be used for departing passengers when the footfalls increase at the station, an official statement said

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the redeveloped Gandhinagar Capital Railway Station on Friday. This project was taken up in partnership with the Gujarat state government and the Ministry of Railways through Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC).

“The station is future ready, and the concourse will be used for departing passengers when the footfalls increase at the station. However, in the near future, it is planned to open retail, food and entertainment outlets in this area to serve the demands of the passengers as well as the local population,” an official statement said.

“Market players such as Big Bazaar and Shopper’s Stop have also shown interest in opening their mini outlets making it convenient for the passengers and local population to shop at the station. The redeveloped station will function like a ‘city centre rail mall’ where travel will be one of the several functions that it will serve,” the statement added.

The new Railway projects that will be inaugurated include the gauge converted and electrified Mahesana – Varetha line, and the newly electrified Surendranagar – Pipavav section. This section will be integrated with the Dedicated Freight Corridors and is equipped to handle double-stack containers. PM Modi will also be flagging off the two new trains on Friday.

“A new weekly train service between Gandhinagar Capital and Varanasi Junction (via Prayagraj, Jhansi) will also be inaugurated. It has 16 Coaches including 6 AC Coaches. The new train leaves Gandhinagar Capital every Thursday and leaves Varanasi Junction every Wednesday. Another new MEMU train service will be between Gandhinagar Capital (GNC) and Varetha (VTDI). This service will run for 6 days a week with 13 stoppages enroute,” Chairman and CEO Railway Board, Sunit Sharma said.

An official statement said that work on the redevelopment of 125 stations is underway.

“Out of this, IRSDC is working on 63 stations, and Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) is working on 60 stations with two stations being taken up by zonal railways. The total investment for the redevelopment of 123 stations along with real estate development is more than Rs 50,000 crore,” the statement said.

The Habibganj station in Bhopal and the Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal (SMVT) at Bengaluru have also been recently redeveloped. Work at the Ayodhya, Bijwasan (Delhi), Gomtinagar (Lucknow), Delhi Safdarjung and Ajni (Nagpur) stations are also under progress.