Overview

• The Rajpura–Mohali line is scoped at 18 km with a budget of Rs 443 crore, addressing a demand pending for nearly five decades.
• Railways has sought 54 hectares from the Punjab government for the corridor, and officials outlined an initial Rajpura stretch to remove engine reversals on the Chandigarh route.
• A Vande Bharat on the Firozpur–Bathinda–Patiala–Delhi axis was proposed to run six days a week, with planned halts at Bathinda, Dhuri, Patiala, Ambala and Rajpura.
• Both projects have only in-principle approval and will be placed before the Cabinet, with operational timelines yet to be published.
• Vaishnaw cited Punjab’s rail outlay rising from Rs 225 crore in 2009–14 to Rs 5,421 crore now and credited MoS Ravneet Singh Bittu for advancing the initiatives.