PM Modi virtually inaugurates 18 Amrit Bharat stations in Gujarat

Ahmedabad: Eighteen railway stations in Gujarat are among the 103 ‘Amrit Bharat’ stations that were virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Bikaner in Rajasthan on Thursday morning, an official release said.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was present at Limbdi railway station in Surendranagar district to witness the virtual inauguration of these redeveloped railway stations by PM Modi.

These 18 stations, redeveloped under the Centre’s Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, include Sihor, Utaran, Dakor, Derol, Hapa, Jamjodhpur, Jamvanthali, Kanalus, Karamsad, Kosamba, Limbdi, Mahuva, Mithapur, Morbi, Okha, Palitana, Rajula and Samkhyali.

Addressing an event at Limbdi station, CM Patel said these 18 stations in Gujarat have been redeveloped as Amrit Bharat stations at Rs 164 crore. The stations have been upgraded to provide better amenities to passengers.

He said the Modi government has redeveloped the Limbdi railway station, which is directly linked to spiritual leader Swami Vivekananda, at Rs 10.55 crore.

Of the 1,300 railway stations being redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, 87 are in Gujarat and 18 of them were inaugurated by the PM on Thursday, said the CM.

“Before heading to Chicago to attend the ‘World’s Parliament of Religions’ in 1893, Swami Vivekananda had visited Limbdi and stayed at the palace here for a few days,” Patel said.

Under the Modi government, nearly 3,144 kilometres of railway lines have been electrified in Gujarat since 2014, which is close to 97 per cent of the network, said the CM.

“A total of Rs 17,155 crore has been allocated to Gujarat in the railway budget for 2025-26. That is 29 times the allocation between 2009 and 2014. Gujarat also received four Vande Bharat trains under PM Modi’s leadership,” said Patel.

Currently, the redevelopment of Sabarmati railway station is being done on the theme of ‘Dandi March’ (the non-violent protest led by Mahatma Gandhi against the British salt monopoly in India), he said.

Similar work is underway at Somnath station on the theme of the famous Shiva temple there, added Patel.