Banaras Railway Station to be major hub for pilgrims visiting Varanasi
Indian Railways is working on making Banaras Railway Station in Varanasi as the largest station dedicated for pilgrims visiting the temple town.
Though at present Varanasi Cantonment Railway Station is the major station with highest footfall due to terminating and passing of large number of trains, the national transporter is planning to decongest this station and make Banaras a major hub.
The Banaras railway station was earlier known as Manduadih and was renamed early this year. The station was modernised at a cost of Rs 118 crore, providing state of art facilities including an air conditioned waiting hall, improvement of circulation area, provisions of lifts and escalators and food plazas.
Modernisation of the station is one of the pet projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide better facilities to pilgrims visiting the holy city. Varanasi has been the Prime Minister’s Parliamentary constituency since 2014.
The PM, who was in Varanasi city to inaugurate Kashi Vishwanath Corridor last month, also made a surprise visit to the station during midnight to see the facilities.
"Already nine pairs of trains have been shifted to Banaras from Varanasi Cantonment Railway Station, while another five will be shifted soon," Pankaj Kumar Singh, North Eastern Railway spokesperson.
At present Banaras Station has 5,000 passengers footfall per day while the railway expects to increase to 50,000 once more trains shifted to this station. Once the modernisation works is completed, the station will have 8 platforms and 16 running lines.
Just 6 years ago, the station had only three platforms and one entry. But now it has more platforms and two entries for passengers. To promote local art and culture in Banaras station, paintings have been installed at the station, said the railway official.
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