Digital museums to showcase railways heritage at 22 stations

New Delhi : In a bid to make people aware of the rich heritage of Indian Railways, the Railway Ministry has decided to launch "digital museums" at 22 big stations on Independence Day, officials said on Saturday.

"The railways has decided to bring up 22 new digital museums at big stations across the country," a senior Railway Ministry official from the Heritage Department told IANS requesting anonymity.

He said that this project is being tried on a pilot basis, where it will show the heritage of the Indian Railways through movie clips of one-two minutes on the digital LED screens at the station entrance and comfort zones. Screenings at platforms will be avoided so as not to create unnecessary crowding.

"Through the short films, the railways shall show the heritage buildings, heritage locomotives and many more which would make the people aware of the rich heritage that the Indian Railways carries with it," he said.

"In the current set-up, there has been no new expense on the project as we have utilized the existing infrastructure like the LED screens," the official said.

The official said that the move comes in the backdrop of the Prime Minister's Office's objection to creating new rail museums.

"Currently, the digital museum is on display at stations like Jaipur, Agra Cantonment, Erode, Katihar and others," he added.

Last year in November, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal during his visit to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, which is also a world heritage site, had announced to convert this busy train terminus into a "world-class museum".