In a major initiative, railway stations and adjoining areas will be redeveloped for enhancing passenger amenities and easy access to stations as a part of Smart City development.<br/><br/>A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in this regard today in the presence of Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu. <br/><br/>Both the Ministers lauded the joint initiative as a historic landmark that brings synergy in development of smart cities saying there can not be a smart city without a smart railway station.<br/><br/>Speaking on the occasion, Mr Naidu said that this convergence based city development will result in qualitative improvement in city life. He suggested involvement of local people in redevelopment plans. <br/><br/>The Railway Minister said that railway stations have been the core of city development and have become congested over time and their redevelopment offers immense opportunities for changing city landscape. <br/><br/>He said that several countries like Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, UK and Belgium have showed interest in redevelopment. A Round Table of domestic and overseas bankers will be organized next week to discuss financing of these redevelopment projects. <br/><br/>Redevelopment of railway stations will be implemented initially in the 100 cities included in the Smart City Mission.