Here’s how station names are changed

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the newly renovated Habibganj station that has been renamed as Rani Kamalapati station in Madhya Pradesh on Monday, November 15.

The renovation cost of the station was about 100 crores and it was renamed after the Gond queen Rani Kamalapati. The station is set to provide its passengers with an airport like experience. The decision of renaming the station came after the central government’s decision to celebrate November 15 as ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas’ in remembrance of Birsa Munda.

The renaming of the station from Habibganj to Rani Kamalapati created quite the controversy among the people of the opposition. This is not the first station to be renamed under the BJP rule. In 2018, Mughalsarai Junction was changed to Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction. The same year saw Allahabad change to Prayagraj by the Yogi Adiyanath government. On Diwali this year, the Faizabad Junction station was renamed as Ayodhya Cantonment station.

Here’s how the railway station names changed:

Indian Railways does not have the authority to change the name of any station according to their own will. The decision to change any name of any station completely belongs to the state government. 

In order to change the name of the railway station, the state government writes to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the nodal ministry for these matters. Once the application is approved by the MHA, the process begins. Notably, when the stations are being renamed, it is noted that no other station or place has the same name to avoid confusion. 

Once the Indian Railways gets the approval, a new station ‘code’ for train operation purposes is invested. After this, the name is changed everywhere with the relevant code so that the latest is reflected on tickets and information boards. 

The new name of the station is physically changed on the platform, station building, signage, etc making it easy for passengers to understand. 

The Madhya Pradesh government also had written to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) about renaming the recently redeveloped Habibganj station after Rani Kamlapati, the 18th Century Gond queen of the region.