OREANDA-NEWS.   The total number of railway stations having two or more platforms are 4786. So far, 56 railway stations have been equipped with 153 escalators including Metro Railway Kolkata and suburban section of Chennai.

 Out of a total budget layout of Rs. 914 crore under ‘Passenger Amenities’ during 2013-14, an amount of Rs. 46 crore has been allocated besides some additional provision by Zonal Railways towards provision of escalators which is adequate for the current year requirement.

 Provision of escalators at important stations is a continuous process and is done as per need, inter-se priority of works and availability of funds.

 Higher priority has been accorded for provision of escalators at A-1 category and other important Railway stations. The work for provision of 100 escalators is currently under progress and 400 more escalators are under procurement stage.

 This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.