Most beautiful Indian Railways stations: Central Railway's Balharshah, Chandrapur top the list

In Indian Railways' drive for beautification of station premises, nominations were invited across all Zonal Railways for stations where beautification has been done with participation of local artists, and Ministry of Railways has awarded Balharshah and Chandrapur stations (Nagpur Division) of Central Railway with the first prize. Ballarshah and Chandrapur railway stations were decorated with paintings and sculptures depicting the Tadoba forest, which was welcomed by the passengers who experienced the rich wildlife beauty in vivid colours. Both the stations have been awarded Rs 10 lakh as the prize money, said a statement by the Ministry.
 
According to the statement, Madhubani Railway station under Samastipur division of East Central Railwayin, Bihar has been declared the second best along with Madurai Railway Station (Southern Railway). More than 100 artists adorned Madhubani station with renowned Madhubani paintings in only 10 days in October last
 
Madurai Railway Station's walls were painted with various murals relating to Madurai. One of them is the scene which depicts the giving away of the bride Goddess Meenakshi to Lord Sundareswarar by Lord Vishnu from the celestial wedding which is performed at the Sri Meenakshi Amman temple. Apart from this, colourful paintings also adorn many other walls of the railway station. The second prize winners will receive Rs 5 lakh of prize money, the statement added.
 
Kota Station (West Central Railway), Gandhidham Station (Western Railway) and Secunderabad Station (South Central Railway) were adjudged as the third prize winning stations, and will receive Rs 3 lakh of prize money. Secunderabad station is steeped in the rich traditions of Cheriyal Scroll Paintings. Deriving its lineage from Cheriyal village near Warangal, Telangana, the costumes and settings provide an authentic glimpse of the rich culture of Telangana. 

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The evaluation committee consisted of the Executive Director (Station development), Chief Commercial Manager (systems) of South Central Railway, Executive director (Tourism) and an official from the Northeast Frontier Railway set up to review 62 entries received from 11 Zonal Railways.