Railway ministry inks MoU for Smart Railway Stations
The Union Ministry of Railways and Union Urban Development Ministry have inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for smart railway stations.
The validity of the MoU is for the five years and can be extended with the consent of both the ministries.
Under this initiative
- Railway stations and surrounding areas will be redeveloped under the Smart City plan.
- 500 railway stations in the country will be ‘smarten up’ with better passenger amenities, integrated public transport hubs and easy access.
- Initially, 100 railway stations and an adjoining area of 300-800 acres will be redeveloped in Smart Cities and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) Schemes. Later the scope of the MoU will be extended to over 500 cities in time.
- Countries like Germany, Japan, France, South Korea, UK and Belgium have shown interest in the redevelopment of railway stations.
- To begin with, Railway stations in 10 cities will be taken up for the redevelopment with the involvement of the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC).
- They are Varanasi, Bhubaneswwar, Sarai Rohilla (Delhi), Varnasi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Kota, Thane, Margao (Goa), Tirupati and Puducherry.
Month: Current Affairs - October, 2016