Parliament Question: Upgradation of Railway Stations in Murshidabad

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 521 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.12.2025 UPGRADATION OF RAILWAY STATIONS IN MURSHIDABAD 521. MD ABU TAHER KHAN: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether there are any plans to upgrade railway stations in Murshidabad district particularly Berhampore Court, Lalgola and Azimganj—with modern passenger amenities such as clean toilets, adequate seating and digital information system and if so, the details thereof; (b) the details of the steps taken/being taken by the Government to improve safety measures and infrastructure at smaller stations in Murshidabad where inadequate lighting, poor sanitation and lack of surveillance remain major concerns for passengers; and (c) whether the Government allocated any specific budget/timeline for the redevelopment/modernisation of Murshidabad’s key railway stations to bring them at par with standard facilities available in other districts of West Bengal and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (c) 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 101 stations including Azimganj and Berhampore Court stations of Murshidabad district, are located in the state of West Bengal. The name of stations identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of West Bengalare as following: State No. of Name of Stations Stations West 101 Adra, Alipur duar Jn., Aluabari Road, Ambika Bengal Kalna, Anara, Andal Jn., Andul, Asansol Jn., Azimganj, Bagnan, Bally, Balurghat, Bandel Jn., Bangaon Jn., Bankura, Barabhum, Barasat, Barddhaman, Barrackpore, Belda, Berhampore court, Bethuadahari, Bhaluka Road, Binnaguri, Bishnupur, Bolpur Shantiniketan, Burnpur, Canning, Chandan nagar, Chandpara, Chandrakona Road, Dalgaon, Dalkhola, Dankuni, Dhulian Ganga, Dhupguri, Digha, Dinhata, Dum Dum Jn., Falakata, Garbeta, Gede, Haldia, Haldibari, Harishchandrapur, Hasimara, Hijli, Howrah Jn, Jalpaiguri, Jalpaiguri Road, Jangipur Road, Jhalida, Jhargram, Joychandi Pahar Jn, Kaliyaganj, Kalyani, Kalyani Ghoshpara, Kamakhyaguri, Katwa Jn, Khagraghat Road, Kharagpur Jn, Kolkata, Krishnanagar City Jn, Kumedpur Jn, Madhukunda,State No. of Name of Stations Stations Madhyamgram, Malda Court, Malda Town, Mecheda, Medinipur (Midnapore), Nabadwip Dham, Naihati Jn, New Alipurduar, New Cooch Behar, New Farakka Jn, New Jalpaiguri Jn, New Mal Jn, Ondagram, Panagarh, Pandabeswar, Panskura Jn, Purulia Jn, Rampurhat Jn, Ranaghat, Sainthia Jn, Salboni, Samsi, Santragachi, Sealdah, Shalimar, Shantipur, Sheoraphuli Jn., Siliguri Jn., Sitarampur, Siuri, Sonarpur Jn., Suisa, Tamluk, Tarakeswar, Tulin, Uluberia Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of West Bengal have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, works of 3 stations (Joychandi Pahar, Kalyani Ghoshpara and Panagarh) in the state of West Bengal 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:  Azimganj station: The work of platform surfacing, platform shelter, new second entry station building, improvement of existing station building, booking office, waiting hall, toilet, circulating area, Divyangjan facilities, coach indication board andtrain indication board have been completed. The finishing works have been taken up.  Berhampore Court station: The work of platform shelter at platform no. 1, platform surfacing of platform no. 2/3 and Public Announcement System (PAS) have been completed. The work of platform shelter at platform no. 2/3 has been taken up.  Khagraghat Road station: The work ofcoach indication board, train indication board have been completed. The works of improvement of existing station building, booking office, waiting hall, toilet, circulating area, parking area and Divyangjan facilities have been taken up.  New Farraka Junction station: The work of improvement of existing station building, reserve lounge, portico, waiting hall, lifts, coach indication board, train indication board and signages have been completed. The works of circulating area, toilet, escalator, Divyangjan facilities and 12 m Foot Over Bridge have been taken up.  Jangipur Road station: The works of improvement of station building, circulating area, coach indication board, train indication board, signages and lift completed. The works of portico and Divyangjan facilities have been taken up.  Dhulian Ganga station: The works of Passenger Reservation System building, improvement of existing station building, lift and Divyangjan facilities have been completed. The works of concourse area and circulating area have been taken up. At Lalgola station, development works for improvement of circulating area, platform shelter at platform no. 1, upper classwaiting hall, ramp at station entry, urinals at platform no. 2 and ladies toilet have been completed in recent years to improve passenger amenities. Further, the works for raising of platform and provision of toilet have been sanctioned. Further, upgradation / modernisation of stations on Indian Railways is a continuous and ongoing process and works in this regard are undertaken as per requirement, inter-se priority, 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. 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, airport 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. 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, orstation wise or state-wise. The state of West Bengal is covered under the jurisdiction of four railway zones, namely Eastern Railway, Northeast Frontier Railway, South Eastern Railway and Metro Railway. For these zones, an allocation of ₹ 1,317 crore has been made for the financial year 2025-26, out of which an expenditure (up to October, 2025) of ₹ 737 crore has been incurred so far. *****