Rajasthan's Bijainagar railway station gets facelift under Amrit Station Scheme

BIJAINAGAR (Beawar): Under the Amrit Station Scheme, redevelopment work at Bijainagar station is progressing rapidly. The Ajmer division of the North Western Railways (NWR) aims to complete the work by May 2025. Rail passengers of this town are upbeat with the new look and modern amenities coming up at this railway station.

TOI visited the station on Thursday, which is around 200 km away from Jaipur, to find the progress at the station, which was converted to broad gauge on the Ajmer-Chittorgarh route in 2007. Railways is carrying out redevelopment work of stations under the "Amrit Station Yojana" to increase passenger facilities at stations and give a new look to the station buildings.

“Eighty-five stations in Rajasthan, including Bijainagar station of Ajmer division on North Western Railway, are being redeveloped under the Amrit Station Yojna. At Bijainagar, which is a town known for temples and pilgrimage, the idea was to redevelop the station for enhancing passenger amenities,” said Captain Shashi Kiran, Chief Public Relations Officer, NWR.

“The level of the platform has been raised to a high level, and the length of the railway station has been enhanced to 580 meters. Also, we constructed a whole new building with a booking office, which is also Divyang friendly. Additionally, the parking area has been constructed on the land that was barren some years ago near the railway station. The new building will have a shopping complex and cafeteria, and adequate parking facilities are being made and will be provided here as per the requirement. The Amrit Station Redevelopment Scheme will promote tourism, people will have convenience in commuting, clean and modern railway stations will increase employment opportunities, and will lead to the economic and social development of the region,” he added.

Authorities added that 56 pairs of trains pass through this station, out of which 36 pairs of trains halt at Bijainagar. “The passenger footfall of this station is around 25,000, and the station earns Rs 1.5 lakh per day, thus it is an important station on the Jaipur-Chittorgarh route,” said an officer.

Among the 84 stations, the redevelopment work is progressing at a fast pace at 18 stations of the Ajmer division of the NR, including Sojat Road, Mavli, Ranapratap Nagar, Pindwara, Dungarpur, Marwar Junction, Falna, Kapasan, Bhilwara, Beawar, Somesar, Rani, Jamwai Dam, Fatehnagar, Abu Road, Ajmer, and Udaipur City Station.

When asked what has been added at this station, under the Amrit Station Yojana, redevelopment work at Bijainagar station at a cost of Rs 15.40 crore is in the final stage. Facilities being developed at Bijainagar station, Anoop Sharma, Chief Project Manager, Gatishakti unit, said, “We have constructed a new station building, developed a circulating area with separate entry and exit gates, ample parking space, provision of a porch for boarding and deboarding of passengers, provision of better separate waiting rooms for men and women, provision of 2 lifts, also signages have been improved, there is a provision of a coach indication board on the platform. Most importantly, there is a provision of a 12-meter wide foot overbridge to give better space.”