RRB Practice 4

Railway stations in India serve roles that go far beyond their functional purpose as points of boarding and alighting for passengers, acting simultaneously as economic centres, community gathering places, architectural landmarks, and microcosms of the extraordinary diversity of Indian society. The major terminal and junction stations of Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Delhi's New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations, Kolkata's Howrah and Sealdah stations, Chennai's Chennai Central, and Bengaluru's Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna station together handle tens of millions of passengers every month and contain within their extensive premises a comprehensive array of commercial, hospitality, and public services that serve the surrounding urban area as well as travelling passengers. Under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme launched in 2023, the Indian Railways has committed to the systematic redevelopment of over a thousand stations across the country, covering both major terminals in metropolitan cities and important junction stations in smaller cities and district headquarters, with the objective of transforming them into world-class multimodal transport hubs that meet contemporary standards of passenger comfort, accessibility, and operational efficiency. The redevelopment plans for each station are prepared with reference to its specific architectural character, heritage significance, traffic volumes, and the nature of the surrounding urban environment, ensuring that improvements are contextually appropriate rather than applying a standardised template regardless of local conditions. The redeveloped stations will feature dramatically improved concourse spaces with high ceilings and natural light, contemporary retail and food and beverage facilities managed through competitive bidding with quality standards enforced by the railways, landscaped rooftop plazas and public spaces that enhance the civic character of the area around the station, separate arrival and departure flows to reduce congestion and improve the experience of passengers navigating the station, and significantly improved integration with metro rail, city bus services, and local taxi and auto-rickshaw services to facilitate smooth multimodal journeys. Accessibility for persons with disabilities and elderly passengers is a central focus of the redevelopment programme, with wide ramps replacing steps at all entrance points, tactile guidance paths on all platforms and concourses, low-floor access to coaches through level boarding where platform height permits, accessible toilet facilities with appropriate fittings at every station, and lifts and escalators at all major stations to eliminate the need for passengers with mobility limitations to climb stairs with heavy luggage. The commercial development potential of station land and air rights is being harnessed through long-term concession agreements with private developers who finance station improvements in return for the right to develop commercial and residential facilities on railway land adjacent to or above the station, creating revenue streams for the railways that reduce the burden on the exchequer while improving the quality of station infrastructure at no direct capital cost to the government. Revenue from these commercial developments is earmarked for further railway capital investment, creating a virtuous cycle of improvement. Digital payment facilities, automated ticketing kiosks, and the Indian Railways mobile application have together reduced the dependence of passengers on manned ticket counters and substantially improved the convenience of journey planning, booking, and management for millions of travellers across the country.