Parliament Question: Upgradation of Passenger Amenities at Kasaragod Railway Station

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 563 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.12.2025 UPGRADATION OF PASSENGER AMENITIES AT KASARAGOD RAILWAY STATION 563. SHRI RAJMOHAN UNNITHAN: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware of inadequate waiting areas, sanitation, and accessibility facilities at Kasaragod station and if so, the details thereof; (b) whether the Government proposes to approve new shelters, improved platforms, PA systems, and better lighting under AMRUT/station- redevelopment initiatives and if so, the details thereof; and (c) the status of sanctioned works and time for its completion, year- wise? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (c) Kasargod station has been identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Development works at the station have been taken up in good pace. The works of entrance porch, booking window, platform raising and platform surfacing of platform no. 1 and 2/3, platform shelter, improvement of station building, waiting halls,toilets, circulating area, parking area, coach indication board, train indication board, reserved lounge and water booths have been completed. The works of seating arrangement, lifts, escalator, retiring room, second entry parking and 6 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up. Further 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 Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, out of which 35 stations are located in the state of Kerala. The names of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of Keralaare as following: State No. of Name of Stations Stations Kerala 35 Alappuzha, Angadippuram, Angamali For Kaladi, Chalakudi, Changanassery, Chengannur, Chirayinkeezh, Ernakulam, Ernakulam Town, Ettumanur, Ferok, Guruvayur, Kannur, Kasargod, Kayankulam Jn, Kollam Jn, Kozhikode, Kuttippuram, Mavelikara, Neyyattinkara, Nilambur Road, Ottappalam, Parappanangadi, Payyanur, Punalur,Shoranur Jn., Thalassery, Thiruvananthapuram Central, Thrisur, Tirur, Tiruvalla, Tripunithura, Vadakara, Varkala Shivagiri, Wadakancheri Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of Kerala have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, phase-I works of 02 stations (Chirayinkeezh, Vadakara) in the state of Kerala have been completed under this scheme.The works at other stations have also been taken up at good pace and progress of some of above stations is as given below: • Shoranur Junction station: The works of improvement of station building, platform shelter, platform surfacing, toilet, new AC waiting hall, parking area, lift and 6 m Foot Over Bridge have been completed. The finishing works have been taken up. • Wadakkanchery station: The works of improvement of station building, platform shelter, platform surface, waiting hall, toilet, circulating area and new portico have been completed. The finishing works have been taken up. • Kuttippuram station: The works of improvement to station building, platform shelters, platform surfacing, waiting hall, toilet, second entry, improvement of circulating area and Foot Over Bridge have been completed. The finishing works have been taken up. • Changanassery station: The works of improvement of station building, platform surface, entrance arch, improvement of circulating area and parking area have been completed. The finishing works have been taken up.• Chalakudistation: The works of improvement of station building, platform shelter, platform surface, waiting hall, toilet, circulating area and parking area have been completed. The finishing works have been taken up. Indian Railways is committed to make its railway stations accessible for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjans) and passengers with reduced mobility as part of “Sugamya Bharat Mission” or ‘Accessible India Campaign’ of Government of India. In compliance of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, “Guidelines on accessibility of Indian Railway stations and facilities at stations for differently abled persons (Divyangjans) and passengers with reduced mobility” have been circulated and notified in the Gazette of India. The guidelines include provisions of facilities for Divyangjans and passengers with reduced mobility such as entrance ramps, accessible parking, low height ticket counters/help booths, toilets, drinking water booths, subways/foot over bridges with ramps/lifts, standard signages including Braille signages and tactile pathways for visual impairment etc. Development / Upgradation / Modernization of stations including under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is generally funded under Plan Head-53 ‘Customer Amenities’. The details of allocation of funds for development and maintenance of stations are maintained Zonal Railway-wise and not Work-wise or Station-wise. Passenger amenities are generally funded under Plan Head-53 ‘Customer Amenities’. The state of Kerala is covered under the jurisdiction of Southern Railway and for this zone, an allocation of ₹ 1122 crore has been made for the financial year 2025-26,out of which an expenditure (up to October, 2025) of ₹ 686 crore has been incurred so far. Development / Upgradation of railway stations is complex in nature involving safety of passengers & trains and requires various statutory clearances such as fire clearance, heritage, tree cutting, air-port clearance etc. The progress also gets affected due to brownfield 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. Therefore, no time frame can be indicated at this stage. *****