Indian Village Saves $45,000 and Builds A Railway Station

Fed up with requesting for their own railway station for more than 2 decades, Tajnagar, a small Indian village outside Delhi, finally built one by themselves. This DIY project was funded by villagers’ own money and constructed on land provided by the railway company.

Previously, the village simply had a railway line passing through that area.

Thus, anyone working or studying in nearby cities had to catch the relevant train from nearby stations in other villages which were located a few miles away.

Given the lack of accessible transport, the villagers had been calling for a station at or close to them since 1982.

However, the authorities were unable to help, citing that there were other bigger, transport issues to tackle.

Tired of waiting and pleading, the villagers took matters into their own hands.

One villager, Hukum Chand, was quoted as saying: “We have been raising the demand [for a station] since 1982, but the railways told us they did not have funds. So, finally we decided to craft our own destiny.”

The fund raising effort started two years back where each villager from the mainly farming community contributed what they could afford. The amount contributed by the villagers came up to a hefty 2,080,786 rupees ($45,000).

Once they had the money, they contacted the railway authorities and offered to construct the station themselves.

As for the railway folks, they were happy to supervise the whole matter, where they also provided the required specifications and designs for such a building.

The authorities also stated that if they were successful in this endeavor, the transport folk would do their bit and ensure that trains would stop at this location.

The villagers finished the project in just under a year and in January 2010, the folks saw the official opening of the station.

The DIY station actually consisted of a ticket counter and two platforms as opposed to featuring an actual building.

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By shinigami on 14-01-2010