NEW DELHI: In a first for the country, the Indian Railways has started developing ‘Digital Museums’ (DMs) to showcase its rich heritages under a comprehensive policy framed for promoting the concept of Digital Museums across the country on Indian Railways.
To begin with, the digital museums on Indian Railways are planned to be set up at 22 oldest and most important railway stations in the country, including 11 in Uttar Pradesh. A dry-test of concept was recently done at Jaipur, Katihar, and Agra Cantonment and Erode railway stations.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, responding to a query of a Lok Sabha MP a few days back confirmed that the railways has a policy to develop the digital museums at important railway stations of the country instead of setting up any new regional rail museums.
“At present, there is no proposal to set up new regional rail museums in the country. But, the current policy is to develop only digital museum at important railway stations subject to justification and feasibility on case to case basis," the railway minister said.
He further in a written reply informed that 11 important railway stations in UP have been also been identified for providing digital museums.
Meanwhile, official sources of the railway said that 22 digital museums are initially planned to be set up at different big and oldest railway stations.
In Uttar Pradesh, the railways has decided to set up the digital museums at Lucknow junction, Prayagraj, Etawaha, Vrindavan, Varanasi, Kanpur Central, Agra Cant, Gorakhpur, Rae Bareli Junction, Allahabad Chheoki and the Mathura Junction.
“Aim behind setting up the digital museum is to inform people about the rich heritage of Indian Railway through video-clippies at the entrance of concerned on a big LED Screen through the multimedia system," a railway official in the know of this project detailed.
Other prominent stations likely to have digital museums in near future are Chhattrapati Shivaji railway terminal, Howrah, New Delhi, Chennai, Kharagpur and others. Howrah in West Bengal is one of the oldest railway stations, which was opened in 1854.
The video clippings, prepared on the oldest rail lines, historical oldest railway bridges, the first, the biggest, the largest and the oldest railways stations, the heritages trains, the heritage locomotives, the rarest pictures and other archived materials, would be exhibited at each digital museum.