Vijayawada: Arun Kumar Jain, general manager of South Central Railway (SCR), announced that 56 railway stations in Andhra Pradesh have been identified for redevelopment as Amrit stations at an estimated cost of Rs. 2,593 crore. During a meeting with MPs on Friday, he detailed that significant upgrades at Tirupati and Nellore stations have been initiated, costing Rs. 414 crore. Development works for the Vijayawada station are planned under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode, entrusted to the Rail Land Development Authority. Jain noted that last year, 450 km of track was laid in the SCR jurisdiction of Andhra Pradesh, with 97% of the rail track in the state now electrified.
Jain further explained that the total expenditure on ongoing railway projects in Andhra Pradesh, including new lines, doubling, tripling, and surveys, is approximately Rs. 55,000 crore. He mentioned that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for a new railway line between Errupalem and Namburu, spanning 56 km and estimated to cost Rs. 2,300 crore, has been submitted to the Railway Board for approval.
To enhance passenger amenities, Jain informed that 88 new lifts have been installed at 33 stations, 69 escalators at 19 stations, and 218 Foot Over Bridges (FoBs) constructed at 178 railway stations in the SCR. In the last three years, 101 manned level crossings have been eliminated, and 257 crossings have been sanctioned for elimination through the construction of Road Under Bridges (RuBs) and Road Over Bridges (RoBs).
The general manager also noted that 108 route kilometers of Automatic Block Signaling have been commissioned on the Golden Quadrilateral and Golden Diagonal routes in Andhra Pradesh, with plans for another 185 route kilometers to be commissioned in the current financial year. Andhra Pradesh has been allocated a budget of Rs. 9,151 crore for the financial year 2024-25.
