Highlighting the need for improving passenger amenities through station redevelopment programme, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that 150 stations of Uttar Pradesh will be developed under Amrit Bharat Yojana.

Besides the station development under Amrit Bharat Yojana, 700 stations will be developed under 'one station, one product' (OSOP) across the country, highlighting local to global for facilitation of local artisans, the Minister added.

Addressing the session on Modernising Rail and Roads of Uttar Pradesh at Lucknow, Vaishnaw said, "Uttar Pradesh will be a role model to other states in development index, as the state is progressing in bullet train speed."

Referring to the Union Budget, he said Uttar Pradesh has got Rs 17,507 crore allocation for railway infrastructure development in FY 2023-24.

The Railway Minister also visited Indian Railways Institute of Transport Management (IRITM) at Lucknow and interacted with probationer IRTS and other Railway officers of Northern Railways, North-Eastern Railways and RDSO.

Seeking removal of bottlenecks for the rapid movement of coal, foodgrains and passengers, Vaishnaw has said there is a need to expand the rail network in the country and there will be no problems for fund allocation.

Ruling out privatisation and corporatisation of the Railways, he said there is a need for more focus on long distance travel by passengers.

"India is heading towards a 5 trillion-dollar economy, we have to change fundamentally," he added.

With regards to the freight movement, he said cargo should not wait for trains, trains should wait for cargo and effective steps should be undertaken to improve goods shed and terminals.