Major upgradation of 1275 railway stations across the country are to be taken up under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme of Ministry of Railways. The scheme was launched during February 2023. Objectives of the scheme The scheme aims at Upgraded stations functioning not just as a place where people come to board the train, but also as a City Centre where various other business activities such as shopping, leisure, meetings, stay etc can also be performed. Seamless multi-modal connectivity and strengthening of access roads around the stations to enable station function as city centre, act as a driver of local economy and facilitate towards Transit Oriented Development. Scheme implementation Under this scheme, priority will be given to those works which improve the ease of movement of passengers, their convenience and integration of station with surrounding areas. The development of identified/selected stations will be taken up in phased manner over coming years. Amrit Bharat Station scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach. It involves preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’, better passenger information systems, Executive Lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station. The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, ‘Roof Plazas’ as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centres at the station in the long term. List of Railway stations to be covered.