Parliament Question: Lack of Passenger amenities at Kanth Railway Station

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 66 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026 LACK OF PASSENGER AMENITIES AT KANTH RAILWAY STATION †*66. MRS RUCHI VIRA: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether Kanth Railway Station located in Moradabad Parliamentary Constituency lacks adequate passenger amenities to meet the growing passenger traffic, thereby developing the need for construction of a proper parking space and a suitable waiting room; (b) if so, the details of the actions proposed to be taken by the Government to develop these essential amenities at the station including providing a planned parking area, construction of a well-equipped waiting room and arrangements for barrier-free access for passengers along with the details of the proposed timeframe and implementing agencies in this regard; and (c) the steps proposed to be taken by the Government to include the said railway station under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for beautification of the station premises, improvement in the passenger movement areas, provision of advanced amenities and upgradation of station infrastructure to modern standards? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. *****STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF STARRED QUESTION NO.66 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026 IN LOK SABHA (a) to (c): On Indian Railways, stations are categorized into 3 groups i.e. Non-suburban, Suburban and Halts. Further, these groups have been put in grades ranging from Non-Suburban Grade (NSG)1-6, Suburban Grade(SG)1-3 & Halt Grade(HG)1-3 based on passenger earnings and/or outward passengers handled at the station. Kanth is a Non-Suburban Grade (NSG)-6 category Station having a footfall of around 1000 passengers per day. As per norms of Minimum Essential Amenities (MEA), waiting area of 15 sqm is to be provided at NSG-6 category station. However, at present, waiting hall of area 167 sqm is available at this facility is more than the prescribed norms of MEA. Further, for vehicle parking, space is available in the circulating area of the station. Adequate passenger amenities like platform shelter, drinking water taps, water cooler, seating arrangement, toilets, Foot Over Bridge, High level platform, etc. are available at this station. However, Augmentation/upgradation and improvement in passenger amenities at Railway Stations is a continuous and on-going process. Development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of stations on Indian Railways is a continuous and ongoing process and works in this regard are undertaken as per requirement, subject to inter-se priority and availability of funds. The priority for development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of stations is accorded to higher category of station over lower category of station while sanctioning and executing the works. Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for redevelopment of stations with a long-term approach.The scheme involves preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations. The master planning includes:  Improvement of access to station and circulating areas  Integration of station with both sides of city  Improvement of station building  Improvement of waiting halls, toilets, sitting arrangement, water booths  Provision of wider foot over bridge/air concourse commensurate with passenger traffic  Provision of lift/escalators/ramp  Improvement /Provision of platform surface and cover over platforms  Provision of kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’  Parking areas, Multimodal integration  Amenities for Divyangjans  Better passenger information systems  Provision of executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station The scheme also envisages sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term. So far, 1337 stations have been identified for development under this scheme, including Moradabad Junction station of Moradabad Lok Sabha Constituency, are located in Uttar Pradesh. The names of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Uttar Pradesh are as following:State No. oNf ame of Stations Stations Uttar 157 Achnera, Agra Cantt., Agra Fort, Aishbagh Jn, Pradesh Akbarpur Jn, Aligarh, Amethi, Amroha, Anand Nagar Jn., Aonla, Ayodhya Dham Junction, Azamgarh, Babatpur, Bachhrawan, Badaun, Badshahnagar, Badshahpur, Baheri, Bahraich, Balamau Jn., Ballia, Balrampur, Banaras, Banda, Barabanki Jn, Bareilly, Bareilly City, Barhni, Basti, Belthara Road, Bhadohi, Bharatkund, Bhatni, Bhuteshwar, Bijnor, Bulandsahar, Chandauli Majhwar, Chandausi, Chilbila, Chitrakut dham karwi, Chopan, Chunar Jn., Daliganj, Darshannagar, Deoria Sadar, Dhampur, Dildarnagar, Etawah Jn., Farrukhabad, Fatehabad, Fatehpur, Fatehpur Sikri, Firozabad, Gajraula, Garhmuktesar, Gauriganj, Ghatampur, Ghaziabad, Ghazipur City, Gola Gokarnath, Gomtinagar, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Govardhan, Govindpuri, Gursahaiganj, Haidergarh, Hapur, Hardoi, Hathras City, Idgah Agra Jn, Izzatnagar, Janghai Jn, Jaunpur City, Jaunpur Jn, Kannauj, Kanpur Anwarganj, Kanpur Bridge Left Bank, Kanpur Central, Kaptanganj Jn, Kasganj Jn, Kashi, Khalilabad, Khorason road, Khurja Jn., Kosi Kalan, Kunda Harnamganj, Lakhimpur, Lalganj, Lalitpur Jn, Lambhua, Lohta, Lucknow (Charbagh) NR, Lucknow city, Lucknow Jn. (NER), Maa Belha Devi Pratapgarh Junction, Maghar, Maharaja Bijli Pasi, Mahoba Jn, Mailani Jn, Mainpuri Jn, Malhaur,State No. oNf ame of Stations Stations Manak Nagar, Manikpur Jn, Mariahu, Mathura Jn, Mau Jn, Meerut City Jn, Mirzapur, Modinagar, Mohanlalganj, Moradabad Jn, Muzaffarnagar, Nagina, Najibabad Jn, Orai, Panki Dham, Phaphamau Jn, Phulpur, Pilibhit Jn, Pokhrayan, Prayag Jn, Prayagraj Jn, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Jn , Rae Bareli Jn, Raja Ki Mandi, Ramghat Halt, Rampur Jn, Renukoot, Saharanpur Jn., Salempur, Seohara, Shahganj Jn, Shahjahanpur, Shamli, Shikohabad Jn., Shivpur, Siddharth nagar, Sitapur Jn., Sonbhadra, Sri Krishna Nagar, Sultanpur Jn, Suraimanpur, Swaminarayan Chappia, Takia, Tulsipur, Tundla Jn., Ujhani, Unchahar, Unnao Jn, Utraitia Jn, Varanasi Cantt., Varanasi City, Vindhyachal, Virangana Lakshmibai Jhansi, Vyasnagar, Zafarabad Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Uttar Pradesh have been taken up at good pace. Till now, works of 23 stations (Ayodhya Dham Junction, Balrampur, Bareilly City, Bijnor, Fatehabad, Fatehpur, Gola Gokarnath, Gomtinagar, Govardhan, Govindpuri, Hathras City, Idgah Agra Jn, Izzatnagar, Khalilabad, Mailani Jn, Panki Dham, Pokhrayan, Ramghat Halt, Saharanpur Jn., Siddharth nagar, Suraimanpur, Swaminarayan Chappia and Ujhani) in Uttar Pradesh have been completed under this scheme. The works at other stations have also been taken up at good pace and progress of some of the above stations is as given below: At Vindhyachal station, the new station building with a wider porch, improved circulating and parking area, 12m-wide Foot Over Bridge have been completed. The works of furniture, signages and Divyangjan amenities have been taken up.  At Chunar station, the work of new station building, New platform shelters, extended circulating and parking areas, improved toilet facilities landscaping, improved lighting have been completed. . The works of furniture, signages and Divyangjan amenities have been taken up.  At Gurshaiganj station, the works of station building improvement, circulating and parking area, platform shelter, platform raising and surface improvement, modern toilet block, 3m wide new foot over bridge, improved furniture have been completed and divyangjan facilities work has been taken up.  At Lucknow Station, the structural work of second entry station building, store depot have been completed. The finishing work of second entry station building, roof plaza, Foot Over Bridge, Second entry circulating area, main entry side external development and work on platform no. 10/11 have been taken up.  At Prayagraj junction station, the structural work of second entry side station building, rail mail service & arrival building, parcel & arrival building, basement plaza on second entry side, extension of foot over bridge no. 2 and electrical substation have been completed. Finishing work of station building, arrival building, basement plaza have been taken up. Development / Redevelopment / Upgradation / Modernisation of Railway Stations is complex in nature involving safety of passengers & trains and requires various statutory clearances such as fire clearance, heritage, tree cutting, airport clearance etc. The progress also getsaffected due to brown field related challenges such as shifting of utilities (involving water/sewage lines, optical fibre cables, gas pipe lines, power/signal cables, etc.), infringements, operation of trains without hindering passenger movement, speed restrictions due to works carried out in close proximity of tracks and high voltage power lines, etc. and these factors affect the completion time. Development / upgradation / modernisation of stations including under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is generally funded under Plan Head-53 ‘Customer Amenities’. The details of allocation and expenditure under Plan Head-53 are maintained Zonal Railway-wise and not work-wise, or station wise or state-wise. The state of Uttar Pradesh is covered under the jurisdiction of five railway zones, namely East Central Railway, North Central Railway, Northern Railway, North Eastern Railway, and West Central Railway. For the current year 2025-26, revised estimate of ₹ 3,794 crore has been allocated while an expenditure of ₹ 3,035 crore has been incurred (up to December, 2025). *****