Chennai: Only 26 of the 77 railway stations in Tamil Nadu, including Chennai Park and St Thomas Mount stations, identified under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) have been upgraded and redeveloped, with work at stations, including Chennai Egmore at different stages of execution, tendering or master planning, according to a recent Railway Ministry reply in the Lok Sabha.In a written reply to K M Sudha, the Mayiladuthurai MP, Union minister of railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said the scheme, launched to redevelop railway stations with improved passenger amenities and better integration with cities, covers 1,340 stations across the country, of which 261 have been completed. Tamil Nadu accounts for 77 of the identified stations. He attributed the challenges in completing the works partly to the fact that the stations remain operational during redevelopment.“These stations are in operation since long, so brownfield work challenges are being faced,” the minister said, citing utility shifting, encroachments and the need to carry out construction without hindering passenger and train movement.In Tamil Nadu, Mayiladuthurai Junction station has completed improvements to its station building, entrance porch, booking counter, concourse, circulating area, parking, waiting hall, platform surface, parcel office, platform shelter, water booth, toilet block, entry and exit gates and signages. A six-metre-wide foot overbridge and lifts are still under construction.At Kumbakonam, redevelopment works include a new station building, a six-metre-wide foot overbridge, waiting area, platform shelters, parcel office, parking, lifts and escalators, staff housing and yard remodelling. Several works, including the new station building and platform extension, have been taken up.In Chennai, Egmore station is also undergoing redevelopment. Parcel building, structural works for multi-level parking on the Gandhi-Irwin Road and Poonamallee High Road sides and a substation building have been completed. Finishing works, terminal buildings, an arrival foot overbridge and an air concourse are under way.The 26 completed Tamil Nadu stations include Ambasamudram, Bommidi, Chennai Park, Chidambaram, Chinna Salem, Coonoor, Karaikkudi Junction, Kulitturai, Mambalam, Manaparai, Mannargudi, Morappur, Namakkal, Palani, Paramakkudi, Pollachi Junction, Polur, Samalpatti, Sholavandan, Srirangam, Srivilliputtur, St Thomas Mount, Thiruvarur Junction, Tiruvannamalai, Udagamandalam and Vriddhachalam Junction.The scheme provides for better station access, waiting halls, toilets, water booths, wider foot overbridges, lifts and escalators, parking, passenger information systems, multimodal integration and landscaping.On quality monitoring, the minister said, “Indian Railways has a well-established mechanism to monitor implementation of projects including their reviews, inspection and check for quality of works.”
