Overview

• Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced an 18 km Rajpura–Mohali rail line costed at ₹443 crore that will provide a shorter Chandigarh connection, reduce travel by about 66 km and ease Rajpura–Ambala congestion.
• The Punjab government is to acquire and hand over roughly 54 hectares for the Rajpura–Mohali project before construction steps can begin.
• A new Vande Bharat service has been proposed between Firozpur Cantonment and New Delhi with halts including Faridkot, Bathinda, Dhuri, Patiala, Ambala Cantonment, Kurukshetra and Panipat, planned to run six days a week except Wednesday.
• Both the Rajpura–Mohali line and the Firozpur–Delhi Vande Bharat have been cleared in principle and will be placed before the Cabinet, with launch dates to be decided after approvals.
• Separately, Indian Railways said the first Vande Bharat Sleeper rake has completed trials, and regular operations will start only after a second rake—expected by October 15—arrives so both can be launched together; some reports carried older Rajpura–Mohali estimates of ~24 km and ~₹203 crore that differ from the latest figures.