Lok Sabha Question No. 657 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-23
Subject: Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for Pothanur Railway Station
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Dr. Ganapathy Rajkumar P

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 657 TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.07.2025

AMRIT BHARAT STATION SCHEME FOR POTHANUR RAILWAY STATION

657. DR. GANAPATHY RAJKUMAR P:

Will the Minister of  RAILWAYS  be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has any proposal that Pothanur Railway Station will be transformed into the second junction of
- Coimbatore, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  development  work  is  underway  under  the  Amrit Bharat  scheme  at  various  railway  stations  in  Salem  division including Podanur Railway Station;
- (c)
- if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the  fund  allocated,  released  and  spent  for  various  development and infrastructural works at the said Station; and
- (e) the  time  by  when  all  the  works  will  be  completed  and  the  said Station converted into the second junction of Coimbatore?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a)  to  (e):  Ministry  of  Railways  has  launched  Amrit  Bharat  Station Scheme.    It  envisages  development  of  stations  on  a  continuous basis with a long-term approach. It  involves  preparation  of  master

…2/-

plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at  the  stations  like  improvement  of  station  access,  circulating areas,  waiting  halls,  toilets,  lift/escalators  as  necessary,  platform surfacing and cover over platform, 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. keeping in view the necessity at each station.

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 and creation of city centre at the station in the long term.

So  far,  1337  stations  including  Podanur  Railway  station  of  Salem division  of  Southern  Railway  have  been  identified  for  development under this scheme. The names of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the Salem division of Southern Railway are as following:

| Division   |   No. of Amrit Stations | Names of Amrit Stations                                                                                                                                                                      |
|------------|-------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Salem      |                      16 | Bommidi, Chinna Salem, Coimbatore Jn, Coimbatore North, Coonoor, Erode Jn., Karur Jn, Mettupalayam, Morappur, Namakkal, Podanur Jn., Salem, Samalpatti, Tirupattur, Tiruppur, Udagamandalam. |

Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Salem division of Southern Railway have been taken up at  a  good  pace  and  work  of  Samalpatti  railway  station  of  Salem division has been completed under this scheme.

Development / Upgradation / Modernisation of stations including under Amrit  Bharat  Station  Scheme  is  generally  funded  under  Plan  Head-53 'Customer  Amenities'.  Salem  division  falls  under  the  jurisdiction  of Southern Railway. For this zone in financial year 2025-26, ₹1,122 crore has been allocated under Plan Head - 53 with expenditure (up to June) of ₹ 240 crore incurred so far.

New Coaching Terminal at Podanur Junction has been sanctioned at a cost of ₹98.67 Crore .

Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors like quick land acquisition by State Government, forest clearance by officials of forest  department,  shifting  of  infringing  utilities,  statutory  clearances from  various  authorities,  geological  and  topographical  conditions  of area,  law  and  order  situation  in  the  area  of  project/s  site,  number  of working  months  in  a  year  for  particular  project  site  etc.  All  these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project/s.

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