Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Railway stations need to step up from being modes of transport to becoming hubs of economic activities.
“The location of railway stations at the heart of the cities makes them prime properties. They can develop into centres of economic activity in the city. Similar to an airport, the development of railway stations on the public-private model is a direction we are moving ahead in,” Modi said while inaugurating several key projects of the Railways in Gujarat through video conference from national Capital.
The PM inaugurated projects worth over Rs 1,100 crore in his home state and these projects include three new attractions in a state-of-the-art science city, a five-star hotel atop a railway station and several railway projects.
Modi also inaugurated a revamped Vadnagar railway station where PM Modi’s father Damodardas Modi had a tea stall inside the railway station and during his younger days, the PM used to help his father sell tea at the station.
Home Minister Amit Shah, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, MoS Railways Darshana Jardosh, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani were present at the event site at Gandhinagar.
“The needs of 21st Century India can’t be fulfilled through the ways of 20th Century. That is why Railways needed reforms through a new approach. We worked to develop Railways not only as a service but as an asset, the result of which can be clearly seen today,” the PM said.
Highlighting the importance of asset maximisation, Modi said, “There is a need for horizontal expansion of the Indian Railways. In addition to this, capacity and resource building, for better services, through vertical expansion is also necessary.”
Modi said railway station modernisation has been a priority for the Centre. “Safety, cleanliness, and speed of Indian Railways has increased with infrastructure modernisation and the introduction of new modern trains. Multiple efforts are being made to increase the speed of trains. As the dedicated freight corridors near completion, the speed of trains would increase in the coming days,” Modi said,
“The development of a grand hotel on the Gandhinagar Railway station is the sign of a positive change…This one-of-a-kind project has resulted in doubling the utilisation of railway land by having a station and a hotel on the same plot,” he added.
On the occasion Amit Shah addressed virtually in Gujarati and said today is the day of joy for Gujarat as the Gandhinagar railway station has been developed after 35 years. “It is a matter of pride that the Prime Minister himself is inaugurating it,” Shah who also represents Gandhinagar in the Lok Sabha.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said due to the Prime Minister’s vision, the Indian Railways have received international fame and few such examples are Vande Bharat Express and ‘Oxygen Express’ trains.
According to a Railway official statement, work on the redevelopment of 125 stations is currently underway. The total investment for these projects along with real estate development is more than Rs 50,000 crore.