Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced that four stations in Pune district will undergo extensive development to increase passenger capacity. This will, in turn, allow for the deployment of more trains from the region, he added.
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"Pune and its surrounding area is a technological and educational hub. There is a high demand for trains from all over the country to Pune. As a result, we are focussing on the significant development of Pune. For this, four stations will be extensively developed. The redevelopment of Pune Junction will be completed soon. In addition, we are considering a major terminal in Uruli, allowing trains to drop passengers at Pune Junction and proceed to Uruli for maintenance. After this, the maintained trains will return to Pune Junction," Vaishnaw said in the Parliament.
"Similarly, we are developing Shivajinagar and Hadapsar stations. This overall development will help increase Pune's capacity. And once the capacity expands, we can deploy more trains," he added.
The Union Minister further said that this initiative isn't only for Pune, but for all major cities across the country.
Meanwhile, while replying to the question in Lok Sabha, Vaishnaw highlighted the Indian Railways' ongoing efforts to provide lower berth accommodations to senior citizens, women and specially-abled people.
Senior citizens, female passengers aged 45 years and above and pregnant women are automatically allotted lower berths subject to availability, even if no specific choice is indicated during booking, he said in a statement.
