PM Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations spread across the country virtually on August 6

On August 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually lay the groundwork for the rehabilitation of 508 railway stations around the country. The Ministry of Railways estimates that the reconstruction work will cost $24,470 crore.

"Improving passenger amenities is a top priority for the government." "The Prime Minister personally monitors the progress of Railways on a regular basis, and he has provided excellent input in designing the stations," Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated.

Only 508 stations are now being redeveloped as part of the Amrit Bharat Scheme, which was intended to redevelop 1,309 stations. Construction work on 24 stations is underway under the plan in ten states: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu. According to officials 

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja Terminus has received the biggest allocation of the 24 stations, totaling 1,813 crore. This station is also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Surat station in Gujarat has also received a 980 crore renovation. Surat is followed closely by Tamil Nadu's Chennai Egmore station, which has a projected development cost of 842 crore.

"Renovating some of these stations is a difficult task. "We are facing challenges in revamping 25% to 30% of the stations in the scheme," a top railway official said.

For example, constructing Kerala's Ernakulum station, which is being built at a cost of 445 crore, is a difficult task since there are developments on both sides of the lines and there is very little space to grow, according to the official. Another example is the Sabarmati station, which is being built at a cost of 335 crore and requires multi-modal transport connectivity because it is also one of the main stations for the bullet train project, according to the official.

The building challenge of Telangana's Secunderabad station is to build a two-tier rooftop plaza. "Rooftop plazas are being proposed as larger structures to replace the concept of foot over bridges." Instead of going and waiting on the platforms, the spacious arenas are created for passengers to rest and recover while they wait for their train," another official noted.