The Western Railway (WR) has begun the redevelopment work of the Somnath railway station in Gujarat. Located near the famous Somnath Jyotirlinga Temple close to Veraval town in Gir Somnath district, the railway station will be redeveloped based on the architectural design of the temple.
Western Railway’s Gati Shakti unit of the Bhavnagar division is carrying out the work at Rs 157.4 crore and is expected to complete it by March 2025.
The main station building will have 12 shikhars (towers) at the terrace level representing jyotirlingas and the theme of the facade will be similar to that of the Somnath Jyotirling Temple.
The railway station is being upgraded and redeveloped into a well-designed station with adequate areas for different amenities and facilities.
The entire station premises will be equipped with Wi-Fi coverage and will also have facilities for the disabled.
Somnath is an important pilgrimage site from ancient times on account of being a Triveni Sangam (a place where three holy rivers meet) and the first among the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva at the Somnath Temple.
The Indian Railways has identified 204 stations across the country for redevelopment, out of which the redevelopment of three stations has been commissioned while that of 43 stations is in progress.
Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat, was the first such station to be redeveloped, the other two being Rani Kamalapati, near Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh; and Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
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