Three years on, Kothagudem railway station modernisation remains incomplete

Three years after the launch of modernisation works under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS), Kothagudem (Bhadrachalam Road) railway station remains incomplete, causing inconvenience to passengers. Commuters have raised concerns over unfinished platforms and lack of seating and toilets.

Kothagudem: Three years on, modernisation works of Kothagudem (Bhadrachalam Road) railway station under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) are still dragging on and no one is sure when the works would be completed.

It may be recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually launched the modernisation works in August 2023 along with over 500 railway stations across the country. The works were supposed to be completed within a year, however, even after three years they have remained incomplete much to the inconvenience of thousands of passengers who commute through the railway station.

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The works planned are as follows: upgrading of façade, entrance portico, 12m wide foot over bridge with one lift and on escalator, improved platform surfaces-coverings, enhanced waiting halls, toilets (including Divyangjan facilities), signage, coach/train indicator boards, circulating area improvement, landscaping besides the promotion of local art and culture.

Though some of the works have been completed, the majority of them remain unfinished. The platforms, façade, entrance portico, escalator, waiting hall and other works are progressing at a slow pace.

With platforms remaining unpaved for the past two years, the passengers are facing severe trouble while boarding and alighting the trains. With lack of seating the commuters are either forced to stand for long hours waiting for the trains or sit on the floor, lamented a passenger K Venkateswara Rao of Sujatha Nagar.

In addition to the delay in modernisation works, cancellation of many passenger trains has also been troubling the passengers. Lack of sufficient number of toilets has also been causing inconvenience to the passengers, he noted.

Rajya Sabha member Vaddiraju Ravichandra informed that he had brought the matter to the notice of South Central Railway (SCR) officials and sought that they speed up the works for the benefit of passengers. The MP said he had also requested the officials to restore the cancelled trains.

It may be noted that the modernisation works have been taken up with an expenditure of Rs 25.41 crore. The railway station categorized as a non-suburban grade-4 (NSG-4) station has an average footfall of 8,020 passengers per day.

Kothagudem railway station is the main connecting point to the temple town Bhadrachalam. Since the celebrations of Godavari Pushkaralu-2027 are scheduled to take place from June 26 to July 7, 2027, the devotees are asking the SCR authorities to complete the works before the celebrations commence.