Lok Sabha Question No. 2847 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-06
Subject: Redevelopment of Chandigarh Railway Station under ABS Scheme
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Manish Tewari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2847 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.08.2025

## REDEVELOPMENT OF CHANDIGARH  RAILWAY STATION UNDER ABS SCHEME

2847. SHRI MANISH TEWARI :

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether Chandigarh Railway Station is being redeveloped under  the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme;
- (b)  if  so,  the  total  estimated  cost  and  timeline  of  the  redevelopment project, along with the percentage of work completed so far;
- (c) whether the Government is aware of reports regarding poor hygiene, inadequate  basic  amenities  and  persistent  crowding  at  the  station despite the ongoing redevelopment;
- (d)  if  so,  the  steps  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  to  improve  sanitation, passenger  facilities  and  crowd  management  at  the  station  during  and after the redevelopment process;
- (e)  whether  any  third-party  or  citizen  feedback  mechanisms  are  being used to  monitor the quality and progress of the redevelopment work, if so, the details thereof; and
- (f)  whether  any  audit/review  has  been  conducted  of  similar  railway station  redevelopment  projects  across  the  country  and  ,  if  so,  the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (f): Chandigarh  railway  station  has  been  identified  for development  under  Amrit  Bharat  Station Scheme.    Redevelopment

work  of  Chandigarh  railway  station  has  been  sanctioned  at  an estimated cost of ₹436.29 Crores.

The work for redevelopment of Chandigarh has progressed well and the  structural  works  for  station  building  at  Panchkula  side  and Chandigarh side have been completed. The works of air concourse, foot  over  bridge,  parking,  platform  upgradation  including  platform shelters,  finishes  of  station  building  etc  have  been  taken  up.  The station redevelopment works are being taken up with minimum effect on the station operation.

So  far,  1337  stations  have  been  identified  for  development  under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme including Chandigarh railway stations. Presently  Phase-I  work  of  105  stations  have  been  completed.  The names of these stations are given below:

Ambikapur,  Amgaon,  Ayodhya  Dham,  Bagalkot,  Baijnath  Paprola, Balrampur,  Bareilly  City,  Begumpet,  Bhanupratappur,  Bhilai,  Bijnor, Bundi, Chanda Fort, Chidambaram, Chinchpokli, Chirayinkeezh, Cuttack, Dakor, Derol, Deshnoke, Devlali, Dharwad, Dhule, Dongargarh,  Fatehabad,  Fatehpur  Shekhawati,  Gadag,  Gogameri, Gokak Road, Gola Gokarnath, Gomti Nagar, Govardhan, Govind Garh, Govindpuri,  Govindpur  Road,  Haibargaon,  Hathras  City,  Hapa,  Idgah Agra Jn.,  Izzatnagar,  Jam  Jodhpur,  Jam  Wanthali,  Joychandi  Pahar, Kalyani Ghoshpara, Kanalus Jn., Karamsad, Karimnagar, Katni South, Kedgaon,  Kosamba  Jn.,  Kulitturai,  Lasalgaon,  Limbdi,  Lonand  Jn., Mahe, Mahuva, Mailani, Mandal Garh, MandawarMahwa Road, Mandi Dabwali, Mannargudi, Matunga, Mithapur, Morbi, Munirabad, Murtizapur Jn., Narmadapuram (Hoshangabad), Netaji Subhash Chandra  Bose  Itwari  Junction,  Okha,  Orchha,  Palitana,  Panagarh, Parel,  Pirpainti,  Pokhrayan,  Polur,  Rajgarh,  Rajmahal,  Rajula  Jn., Ramghat Halt, Saharanpur Jn., Samakhiyali, Samalpatti, Sankarpur,

Savda,  Seoni,  Shahad,  Shajapur,  Shridham,  Siddharth  Nagar,  Sihor Jn., Srirangam, St.Thomas Mount, Sullurpeta, Suraimanpur, Swaminarayan Chappia, Thawe, Tiruvannamalai, Ujhani, Urkura, Utran, Vadakara, Vadala Road, Vriddhachalam Jn., Warangal.

The 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 the long term.

Development / upgradation of 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. Chandigarh railway station falls under the jurisdiction of Northern  Railway  for  which  a  total  allocation  of  Rs  2216  crores (Budget Estimate) has been made for the financial year 2025-26 under Plan Head-53.

Further, development/redevelopment/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  brown  field  related  challenges  such  as  shifting  of utilities, (involving water/sewage lines, optical fiber 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 high voltage power lines etc. and  these  factors  affect  the  completion  time.  Therefore,  no  time frame can be indicated at this stage.

Cleanliness is a continuous process and every endeavour is made to keep the station premises in properly maintained and clean condition. The housekeeping work at Chandigarh Railway Station is being done at  good  standards  while  the  station  redevelopment  work  is  being carried  out.  All  the  passenger  facilities  such  as  Platforms,  waiting rooms,  Toilets  and  bathrooms  etc  are  being  maintained  in  hygienic condition for the comfort of passengers. Frequent inspections by the concerned  officials are being conducted  at Chandigarh  railway station to ensure its cleanliness.

In  order  to  regulate  rush  at  platforms  and  to  prevent  any  untoward incident,  following  steps  are  taken  by  railways  in  coordination  with GRP/Local Police:-

1. Queue System is maintained for hassle free boarding of passengers in general coaches of important trains at originating stations.
2. Skilled RPF staff is deployed in CCTV Control Room to keep a close watch on the crowded areas.

3.  GRP  &  RPF  staffs  are  deployed  at  foot-over  bridges  to  regulate crowd smoothly in order to avoid stampede like situation during the heavy rush period and render real time assistance to passengers.

4.  State  Level  Security  Committee  of  Railways  (SLSCR)  have  been constituted for all State/Union Territories under the Chairmanship of respective  Director  General  of  Police/Commissioner  of  States/Union Territories for regular monitoring and review of security arrangements of the Railways.

5.  Intelligence  units  (CIB/SIB)  and  plain  cloth  staff  are  deployed  for collection of intelligence, gathering more information about rush and accordingly arrangements are made associating GRP/Police.

6.  Coordination  with  GRP/State  Police  is  made  for  ensuring  crowd management.

Indian  Railways  has  a  well  established  mechanism  to  monitor implementation of projects including their reviews, inspection, feedbacks, check for quality of works and audits. Works are carried out adhering to the standards and specifications laid down in various codes  and  manuals.  Inspections/audits/checks  are  carried  out  from time to time by various agencies/officials/multi-disciplinary teams as per  laid  down  instructions  and  actions  for  correction  are  taken immediately. This is a continuous and ongoing process.

****