Parliament panel suggests Railways expedite modernisation of stations

The panel's report also emphasised that the Railways needed to encourage investment in developing rail connectivity by associating with strategic partners and other investors.

A Parliament panel, on Monday, asked the Railways to expedite the modernisation of 1,337 stations identified under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

"The Ministry of Railways should expedite the modernisation of the 1,337 stations identified under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, ensuring completion within a set time frame through regular monitoring," the Standing Committee on Railways said in its second report presented in the Lok Sabha.

The report added, “The Committee also feels that the scope of the Amrit Bharat Stations Scheme needs to be expanded to include more stations, particularly in backward and rural areas." The panel urged the Ministry of Railways to "actively explore and incentivize" Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models for station redevelopment and for railway infrastructure projects to reduce the reliance on budgetary support.

The panel said that the Railways should continue targeted subsidies for suburban and non-AC travel. "However, operational efficiency must be improved through accelerated electrification and energy efficient technologies,” it added.

The report also emphasised that the Railways needed to encourage investment in developing rail connectivity by associating with strategic partners and other investors.

With regard to Dedicated Freight Corridors, the report said, “The Ministry has stated that a detailed project report (DPR) for potential dedicated freight corridors viz East - Coast Corridor, East-West corridor & North-South Sub-corridor have been prepared. The Ministry has further stated that none of these DFC corridors have been sanctioned yet and decision regarding sanctioning of any Dedicated Freight Corridor depends on many factors including traffic volume, techno-economic feasibility and financial viability.”

“The Committee is of the opinion that the Ministry should fast track its studies regarding traffic volume, techno-economic feasibility and financial viability to ensure that work is initiated on new DFCs without further delay. The committee also urges that the work on the remaining portion of the WDFC be completed within the time frame decided without further extension of date,” it added.