Amrit Bharat Station Scheme
Also called: ABSS · Topic: Infrastructure: Transport, Communications and Energy · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) is a Ministry of Railways scheme to modernise railway stations. The earliest official record of it is from December 2022. It covers about 1,300 stations. Each station gets a long-term plan for redevelopment, carried out in stages. The aim is cleaner and better stations, with better waiting areas, entry and exit points and access for the elderly and disabled. A station is also meant to work as a city centre: a hub that brings in local trade and tourism. This matters because stations have long given rise to markets and towns. A better station can lift the economy of the area around it.
Example
In Karnataka, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Sakleshpur and Subrahmanya Road are being developed under ABSS. A redeveloped Sakleshpur station would serve travellers better and would also help nearby shops, hotels and tourism in the hill region. In one single event, foundation stones were laid for 508 Amrit Bharat stations at once.
Don't confuse with
- Vande Bharat trains: these are modern trains, so they improve the service that runs on the tracks. ABSS improves the station buildings and the facilities around them.
- Railway electrification / track doubling: electrification moves trains from diesel or coal to electric power. Doubling adds a second track for more capacity. ABSS changes neither the tracks nor the traction. It only upgrades stations.