BENGALURU: Altogether 55 railway stations out of a total of 367 stations of South Western Railway (SWR) zone will be upgraded from today following a change in classification by the Ministry of Railways. The new status of railway stations will take into account the number of passengers handled as well as ticket sales.
According to an official release, only ticket sale was counted when demarcating stations under different categories earlier.Six stations in the Mysuru Division and 9 in the Bengaluru Division have been upgraded. In addition, 40 halt stations in the SWR zone have been upgraded. It includes 20 stations in Mysuru Division, 12 in Bengaluru Division and 8 in Hubballi Division, the release said.
The main stations that have been upgraded are Mysuru to NSG-2 (from earlier A classification) Bangarpet and Mandya to NSG-3 from previous A and B categorisation respectively and Tyakal to NSG-5 from previous E category. Nanjangud Town, Chamarajanagar, Channapatna, Kuppam, Malur, Ramanagaram, Whitefield, Harihar, Subramanya Road, Sagarajambagaru & Srirangapatna have all been classified under NSG-4 category. In addition 40 halt stations have been upgraded where enhanced passenger amenities will be provided.
A Category was used to refer to stations with more than Rs.8 Cr. But less than 60 Cr. Annual earnings, B referred to. more than Rs.4 Cr.upto but up to Rs 8 Cr. Annual earnings and E category referred to stations with less than Rs.60 lakhs. Mysuru has earnings of more than 100 Cr and passengers more than 10 Millions per annum which has sent it to NSG-2 category now, the release added.