Mansa (Punjab), March 23 (IANS) The Mansa district in Punjab has received a major infrastructure boost as the historic Mansa railway station, originally constructed in 1911, has been redeveloped under the Centre’s Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, providing modern facilities to passengers after nearly a century.
The railway station has been given a new look and has been dedicated to the general public, although some finishing work is still underway.
The redevelopment has focused on improving passenger convenience by adding modern amenities and upgrading the station’s overall infrastructure.
The revamped station now features a modern building, dedicated parking facilities for vehicles, spacious waiting rooms for passengers, lifts, a foot-over-bridge, Wi-Fi connectivity, clean drinking water, and several other passenger-friendly facilities.
Notably, the Mansa railway station was built around 1911, nearly 115 years ago.
Over the decades, while the population of the city continued to grow, the facilities at the railway station largely remained unchanged.
With the redevelopment under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, the station has now been transformed into a modern facility along with several other railway stations across the country.
The newly constructed station building includes comfortable waiting rooms, a ticket counter, clean toilets, and modern seating benches for passengers.
Platforms have been upgraded with LED lighting, a foot-over-bridge and lift facility have been installed to facilitate movement between platform one and platforms two and three.
In addition, a large canteen has been set up within the station premises.
Separate parking areas for vehicles and a well-organised passenger waiting area have also been developed.
Authorities have also constructed a special park for differently-abled persons outside the station to improve accessibility.
Local residents welcomed the transformation of the station and said the redevelopment has brought significant improvement in passenger facilities.
Local residents, Pala S and Sunil Goyal, told IANS that the condition of the station was earlier very poor but it has improved a lot after the redevelopment.
Another resident Jatinder Agra said that the Mansa railway station is located on the Bathinda–Delhi line and was built about 115 years ago in 1911.
“After all these years, the station is now being redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat Scheme. Construction work has been going on for about two-and-a-half years, and a very modern building has been built as part of this redevelopment,” he added.
Another resident, Rimpy, said the redevelopment has brought a major change for commuters.
“It’s a very big change and there is a lot of convenience now. A very good parking facility has been built at the station,” he added.
Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is an ongoing Indian Railways mission launched in December 2022 by the Ministry of Railways to redevelop 1,275 stations nationwide
–IANS
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