Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate India's first world-class railway station in Habibganj on 15 November

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate the country’s first world-class railway station at Habibganj in Bhopal on 15 November. Habibganj railway station in Bhopal is the first world-class model station in the country and has all the facilities that are available at international airports. It has been developed under a public-private partnership and built by a private company named Bansal Group. Built at a cost of around Rs 450 crore, the station is on the same lines as Germany’s Heidelberg railway station. The revamp of the station was launched in July 2016 and work took off in 2017 with a three-year deadline. To control the crowd, separate entry and exit gates are there. Escalators and lifts have been installed at the station to reach the platform. A seating arrangement of 700 to 1,100 passengers has been made in the open concourse. For information about the movement of trains, display boards with different languages have been installed throughout the station. The station will also boast of food courts, restaurants, air-conditioned waiting rooms, dormitory, VIP lounge. Around 160 CCTV cameras have also been installed at the station to keep round-the-clock surveillance. In addition to all these facilities, Habibganj station is developed as a ‘green building’ enabled with solar led-LED lighting. According to a report published in Times of India, the railway station will also provide glimpses of world heritage sites such as the Sanchi Stupa, Bhojpur temple, Bhimbetka, Birla Mandi, Tawa Dam and the Tribal Museum. Abu Asif, Project Director of Habibganj Redevelopment said, “It has been redeveloped as a model station. It is a pilot project of Indian Railways. The project has two parts: One is the station part and the other is the commercial part. Twenty-four hour monitoring of the station will be done from the command and control centre.” “The project has been designed to improve passenger amenities and offer enhanced experience. There is an open concourse to go to different platforms. There is also a food zone, kid zone, the entertainment zone and retail zone in the station,” he added. With inputs from ANI