Lok Sabha Question No. 4238 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-26
Subject: Selection of Sonepat and Jind Railway Stations under ABSS
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Satpal Brahamchari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4238

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.03.2025

SELECTION OF SONEPAT AND JIND RAILWAY STATIONS UNDER ABSS †4238.   SHRI SATPAL BRAHAMCHARI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  Sonepat  and  Jind  railway  stations  have  been  selected under  Amrit  Bharat  Station  Scheme  (ABSS)  for  their  upgradation  as
- stations with world class facility and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  the  salient  features  and  infrastructural  improvement  under  this scheme in Jind and Sonepat railway stations including improvement in travel facilities, digital services and robust infrastructure;
- (c) the details of the total budget allocated for the development of Jind and  Sonepat  railway  stations  under  ABSS  and  the  limit  for  the
- completion of the project; and
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  received  proposal  for  stoppage  of
- train  number  20807/20808  and  22455/22456  and  if  so,  the  details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a)  to  (d)  Sonipat  and  Jind  railway  stations  have  been  identified  for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Tenders for development works at these stations have been awarded and works have been taken up.

At Sonipat station, structural works of new station building have been completed  and  works  of  construction  of  new  foot  over  bridge, additional  platform  shelters,  entrance  porch,  plumbing,  sanitary  and finishing  works  of  station  building,  improvement  of  circulating  area, etc. have been taken up.

At  Jind  station,  structural  works  of  station  building  have  been completed and works of construction of new foot over bridge, raising of platform, plumbing, sanitary and finishing works of station building, platform  shelters,  improvement  of  circulating  area,  etc.  have  been taken up.

Amrit Bharat Station Scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach. It involves preparation of master  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 long term.

So far, 1337 railway stations including 34 stations located in the state of Haryana have been identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station  Scheme.  The  names  of  stations  identified  for  development under this scheme in the state of Haryana are as following:-

| State   |   No. of Amrit Stations | Names of Amrit Stations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
|---------|-------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Haryana |                      34 | Ambala Cantt, Ambala City, Bahadurgarh, Ballabhgarh, Bhattu, Bhiwani Jn, Charkhi Dadri, Faridabad, Faridabad NIT, Gohana, Gurugram, Hansi, Hisar, Hodal, Jind, Kalanwali, Kalka, Karnal, Kosli, Kurukshetra, Loharu, Mahendragarh, Mandi Adampur, Mandi Dabwali, Narnaul, Narwana, Palwal, Panipat, Pataudi Road, Rewari, Rohtak, Sirsa, Sonipat, Yamunanagar Jagadhari |

Upgradation/development  of  railway  stations,  including  under  Amrit Bharat  Station  Scheme,  is  generally  funded  under  Plan  Head-53

'Customer Amenities'. The details of allocation under Plan Head-53 are maintained  Zonal  Railway-wise  and  not  work-wise  or  station-wise  or State-wise.  Sonipat  and  Jind  Railway  stations  fall  under  Northern Railway. The  allocation for the financial year 2024-25 (Revised Estimate) under Plan Head-53 for this zone is Rs 1,531 Crores.

Development/upgradation  of  railway  stations  is  complex  in  nature involving safety of passengers & trains and requires various statutory clearances  such  as  fire  clearance,  heritage,  tree  cutting,  airport clearance  etc.  The  progress  also  gets  affected  due  to  brownfield related challenges such as shifting of utilities (involving water/sewage lines,  optical  fibre  cables,  gas  pipe  lines,  power/signal  cables,  etc.), infringements, operation of trains without hindering passenger movement,  speed  restrictions  due  to  works  carried  out  in  close proximity  of  tracks  and  high  voltage  power  lines,  etc.  and  these factors  affect  the  completion  time.  Therefore,  no  time  frame  can  be indicated at this stage.

Sonipat  and  Jind  stations  are  presently  being  served  by  56  and  79 train services respectively. Further, receipt of proposals and decisions thereon  after  due  examination,  is  an  on-going  process  on  Indian Railways subject to traffic justification, operational feasibility, etc.

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