PM Modi Inaugurates Redeveloped Barmer Railway Station Under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday virtually inaugurated the redeveloped Barmer Railway Station under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, marking a new chapter in the history of one of western Rajasthan’s oldest railway stations.

Barmer-Jaisalmer MP Ummeda Ram Beniwal, Barmer MLA Priyanka Chaudhary, Baytu MLA Aaduram Meghwal and former Union Minister Kailash Choudhary attended the inauguration programme.

Established around 1899, Barmer Railway Station has witnessed colonial-era rail expansion, the India-Pakistan wars, cross-border train services and the transition from metre gauge to broad gauge.

The Luni-Balotra-Barmer railway line opened in 1899, followed by the Barmer-Hyderabad (Sindh) line in 1900, establishing Barmer as a key rail link in western India.

Until the 1965 India-Pakistan war, trains from Barmer connected with Karachi through the cross-border route.

During the 1971 India-Pakistan war, the station came under aerial bombardment on December 8 and 9.

Officials safely moved stored diesel drums before they could be hit, preventing major damage, and railway operations continued throughout the attacks.

The station’s original tin-roofed structure later replaced during the British era with a distinctive rounded-roof building.

A major transformation came in 2005-06 with the conversion of the Jodhpur-Munabao metre-gauge line to broad gauge, supported by then Union Defence Minister Jaswant Singh, followed by the launch of the Malani Express.

The Thar Express, introduced in 2006 between Jodhpur and Khokhrapar, restored rail connectivity between India and Pakistan until its suspension in 2019.

Following earlier modernisation in 2006, the latest redevelopment under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme has further upgraded passenger amenities while preserving the station’s historic legacy.

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