Lok Sabha Question No. 5463 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-25
Subject: ABSS for Railway Stations of Punjab
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Malvinder Singh Kang

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5463 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026

## ABSS FOR RAILWAY STATIONS OF PUNJAB

## 5463. SHRI MALVINDER SINGH KANG:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  current  status  and  physical  progress  of  the  upgradation  works sanctioned under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) for Anandpur Sahib, Rupnagar, Nangal Dam and Nawanshahr stations;
- (b) the details of funds sanctioned and the amount utilised for each station as of January 15, 2026;
- (c) the specific reasons identified for delays, if any, in the implementation of passenger amenities across these stations, particularly concerning connectivity during religious gatherings like the Shaheedi Jor Mela; and
- (d)  the  timeline  for  the  completion  of  key  passenger-facing  amenities  at these stations, month- wise?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (d) Anandpur Sahib, Rup Nagar and Nangal Dam stations, located in Punjab  have  been  identified  for  development  under  Amrit  Bharat  Station Scheme.

At  Anandpur  Sahib  station,  located  in  Punjab,  facilities  like  high  level platforms,  platform  shelter,  waiting  hall,  drinking  water  arrangement, urinal, lavatory, seating arrangement, Foot Over Bridge etc. are available.

Development works under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme at Anandpur Sahib station, located in Punjab have been completed which includes:

§

-  Improvement of station building
-  Entrance porch
-  Platform shelter
-  Improvement of platform surface
-  AC waiting room and toilet
-  Entry/Exit gate
-  New booking counter
-  Circulating area and parking
-  Toilet block
-  Signage
-  12 m Foot Over Bridge

At Rup Nagar station, located in Punjab, facilities like high level platforms, platform shelter, waiting hall, drinking water arrangement, urinal, lavatory, seating arrangement, Foot Over Bridge etc. are available.

The works of improvement of station building, entrance porch, AC waiting room,  toilet  block,  second  class  waiting  room,  circulating  area,  parking, entry/exit gate and signage have been completed. The works of platform surfacing, lift and 12 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.

At  Nangal  Dam  station,  located in Punjab, facilities like high level platforms,  platform  shelter,  waiting  hall,  drinking  water  arrangement, urinal, lavatory, seating arrangement, Foot Over Bridge etc. are available.

The works of improvement of station building, entrance porch, improvement  of  platform  surface,  waiting  room,  toilet  block,  circulating area, parking, entry/exit gate and signage have been completed. The works of lift and 12 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.

At  Nawan Shahr Doaba Junction station, located in Punjab, facilities like high level platform, platform shelter, waiting hall, drinking water arrangement, urinal, lavatory, seating arrangement etc. are available. The work of high level platform has been completed in recent years.

Further,  development  /  redevelopment  /  upgradation  /  modernisation  of stations including provision of passenger amenities on Indian Railways is a continuous and ongoing process and works in this regard are undertaken as  per  requirement,  subject  to  inter-se  priority  and  availability  of  funds.

Development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of a station is carried out based on category of station/condition/traffic handled etc.

Ministry  of  Railways  has  launched  Amrit  Bharat  Station  Scheme  for redevelopment of stations with a long-term approach.

The scheme involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations. The master planning includes:

-  Improvement of access to station and circulating areas
-  Integration of station with both sides of city
-  Improvement of station building
-  Improvement  of  waiting  halls,  toilets,  sitting  arrangement,  water booths
-  Provision of wider foot over bridge/air concourse commensurate with passenger traffic
-  Provision of lift/escalators/ramp
-  Improvement /Provision of platform surface and cover over platforms
-  Provision  of  kiosks  for  local  products  through  schemes  like  'One Station One Product'
-  Parking areas, Multimodal integration
-  Amenities for Divyangjans
-  Better passenger information systems
-  Provision of executive lounges, nominated  spaces  for business meetings,  landscaping,  etc.  keeping  in  view  the  necessity  at  each station

The scheme also envisages 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,  1,338  stations  have  been  identified  for  development  under  this scheme, out of which 30 stations including Anandpur Sahib, Nangal Dam and  Rup  Nagar  stations  are  located  in  Punjab.  The  names  of  stations identified  for  development  under  Amrit  Bharat  Station  Scheme  in  Punjab are as following:

| State   |   No. of Stations | Name of Stations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
|---------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Punjab  |                30 | Abohar, Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib, Beas, Bhatinda Jn, Dhandari Kalan, Dhuri, Fazilka, Firozpur Cantt, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar Cantt Jn, Jalandhar City Jn, Kapurthala, Kot Kapura Jn, Ludhiana Jn, Malerkotla, Mansa, Moga, Muktsar, Nangal Dam, Pathankot Cantt., Pathankot Jn, Patiala, Phagwara Jn, Phillaur Jn, Rup Nagar, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar Mohali, Sangrur, Sirhind |

## Completed Stations:

Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in  Punjab  have  been  taken  up  at  a  good  pace.  The  detail  of  stations completed in Punjab is as given below:

| State   |   No. of Stations | Name of Stations                                           |
|---------|-------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
| Punjab  |                 3 | Anandpur Sahib, Muktsar, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar Mohali |

The activities for development at other stations have also been taken up at good pace and progress of some of the stations is as given below:

-  Sirhind station:  The  works  of  improvement  of  station building, entrance porch, AC waiting room with toilet, improvement of second class waiting room, toilet block, circulating area, parking, entry/exit gate, lighting and signage have been completed. The works of lift and 12 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.
-  Gurdaspur  station:  The  works  of  station  building,  platform  shelter, improvement  of  platform  surface,  waiting  room,  toilet,  circulating area,  porch  and  lighting  have  been  completed.  The  works  of  new platform  no.  2,  booking  cum  waiting  hall,  circulating  area,  parking, entry/exit  gate  on  main  entry  and  second  side  and  12  m  Foot  Over Bridge have been taken up.

-  Patiala station:  The  works  of improvement  of  station building, entrance porch, platform shelter, improvement of waiting hall, retiring room,  toilet,  circulating  area,  parking,  entry/exit  gate  and  signage have been completed. The works of platform surfacing, development of second entry, lift and 12 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.

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.

Development  /  upgradation  /  modernisation  of  stations  including  under Amrit  Bharat  Station  Scheme  is  generally  funded  under  Plan  Head-53 'Customer Amenities'. The details of allocation and expenditure under Plan Head-53 are maintained Zonal Railway-wise and not work-wise, or stationwise or state-wise. Punjab is covered under the jurisdiction of two railway zones,  namely  Northern  Railway  and  North  Western  Railway.  For  these zones, an allocation (Revised Estimate) of ₹ 2,390 crore has been made for the  financial  year  2025-26,  out  of  which  an  expenditure  (up  to  February, 2026) of ₹ 2,379 crore has been incurred so far.

## Train Connectivity

To  provide  greater  accommodation for the  passengers using  General and non-AC  Sleeper  Coaches,  the  extant  policy  regarding  composition  of Mail/Express trains provides for 12 (Twelve) General  class & Sleeper class non-  AC  coaches  and  08  (eight)  AC-Coaches,  in  a  train  of  22  coaches, thereby providing greater accommodation  for the passengers using General and non-AC Sleeper Coaches.

## General Coaches

With  a  view  to  meet  the  demand  of  passengers  travelling  in  unreserved coaches, Railways have significantly increased the facilities for passengers

demanding  general  class  travel.  During  the  last  financial  year  2024-25 alone,  1250  general  coaches  have  been  utilised  in  various  long-distance trains.  In  the  current  financial  year  (upto  February,  2026),  860  Coaches have been utilised for permanent augmentation.

On  Indian  Railways,  demand  patterns  vary  over  lean  and  peak  periods. During peak rush periods, the occupancy of the trains especially on popular routes remains full whereas during lean periods and on less popular routes, there is sub-optimal utilization.

Traffic  pattern  of  the  trains  running  on  Indian  Railways  is  monitored  on regular basis and to cater to additional demand, load of existing trains are augmented, special trains are run, new trains are introduced, frequency of existing trains is increased etc. subject to operational feasibility.

To cater to the travel demand of the low and middle income families, Indian Railways have taken up manufacturing of 17,000 non-AC coaches (general/sleeper).

On Indian Railways, the percentage of  non-AC coaches, is about 70% as indicated below:

Table 1: Distribution of coaches

| Non-AC coaches (general and sleeper)   | ~62,000   | ~70%   |
|----------------------------------------|-----------|--------|
| AC coaches                             | ~27,000   | ~30%   |
| Total coaches                          | ~89,000   | 100%   |

Due  to  higher  availability  of  general  coaches,  the  number  of  passengers traveling in general/ unreserved coaches has shown an increasing trend as shown below:

Table 2: Passengers in general/unreserved coaches: The number of seats available for non-AC passengers has also increased. The current composition is as follows:

| Year    | No. of Passengers   |
|---------|---------------------|
| 2020-21 | 99 Cr (Covid year)  |
| 2021-22 | 275 Cr (Covid year) |
| 2022-23 | 553 Cr              |
| 2023-24 | 609 Cr              |
| 2024-25 | 651 Cr              |

The number of seats available for non-AC passengers has also increased. The current composition is as follows:

Table 3: Distribution of seats:

| Non-AC seats   | ~ 54 lakhs   | ~ 78%   |
|----------------|--------------|---------|
| AC seats       | ~ 15 lakhs   | ~ 22%   |
| Total          | ~ 69 lakhs   | 100%    |

## Special Trains

IR  also  operates  Special  train  services  during  festivals,  holidays,  etc.  to cater to the extra needs of passengers and supplement the accommodation available by regular services.

Accordingly,  the  number  of  Special  trains  operated  across  the  Indian Railways  network,  to  facilitate  the  passengers  during  Summer/winter vacations, festivals etc. are as below:

| Year                    | No. of trips   |
|-------------------------|----------------|
| 2023-24                 | ~40,500        |
| 2024-25                 | ~85,400        |
| 2025-26(upto Feb, 2026) | ~74,800        |

*****