Parliament Question: Rajpura-Mohali Railway Project

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 659 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.07.2026 RAJPURA - MOHALI RAILWAY PROJECT 659. SHRI GURMEET SINGH MEET HAYER: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) the details of the current status, financial outlay and completion timeline of the approved Rajpura-Mohali railway line project; (b) the details of the section-wise maximum permissible speed limit from Bathinda to Chandigarh via new track and plans to upgrade the tracks to increase train speeds on this route; (c) whether trains coming from the Malwa region require an engine reversal at Rajpura Junction to reach Mohali and if so, the details thereof; (d) whether the feasibility of a crossing with the Ambala-Sirhind via grade- separated crossing track was studied and if so, the details thereof; (e) whether new trains are planned from Delhi to Chandigarh via this new route with a stop at Mohali and if so, the details thereof; and (f) whether any new stations, logistics hubs or dry ports are planned along this new track to boost local trade and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (f) : Rajpura – Mohali new line project (18 Km) has been sanctioned recently at a cost of Rs. 443 crore. This project will directly connect Southern Punjab (Bathinda area), between Sirhind – Gobindgarh and Rajpura area to Chandigarh avoiding Ambala. Land acquisition has been taken up. The project has been declared as special Railway Project. Total 73 Ha of land is required for the project. Preliminary notification for land § Page 1 of 11acquisition has been issued. An outlay of Rs. 100 crore has been allocated for this project in FY 2026-27. This new Railway line connecting Rajpura to Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali) is set to transform regional connectivity by seamlessly linking major hubs like Rajpura Junction, Sarai Banjara and Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali). This project addresses a long-standing demand of the people of Punjab’s Malwa region for shorter and more direct rail connectivity to the state capital. This project will provide a boost to local economy. The speed potential of Bathinda - Rajpura route has been upgraded to 110 kmph. Further, strengthening, upgradation, modernisation and improvement of track infrastructure is a continuous and ongoing process over Indian Railways. The following measures are being taken by Indian Railways to upgrade railway tracks: i. Modern track structure consisting of 60kg, 90 Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) rails, Wider and heavier Pre-stressed Concrete Sleepers (PSC) with elastic fastening, fan-shaped layout turnout on PSC sleepers and H-beam Sleepers on girder bridges are being used while carrying out primary track renewals. ii. The Thick Web Switches and Weldable CMS Crossings are being used in turnout renewal works. iii. Supply of 260m long rail panels have been increased to avoid welding of joints, thereby improving safety and riding quality iv. Thick Web Switch Expansion Joints are being used in place of earlier Conventional/Improved SEJs. v. Adoption of better welding technology for rails i.e. Flash Butt Welding. Page 2 of 11vi. Adoption of mechanized system for track maintenance using high output plain tampers and points & crossing tampers for improved maintainability & reliability of track. vii. Deployment of state-of-the-art modern machines including Rail Grinding Machines to further improve asset reliability. viii. Mechanisation of track laying activities through use of track machines like PQRS, TRT, T-28 etc. ix. Interlocking of Level Crossing (LC) Gates for enhancing safety at LC gates. x. Use of advanced Phased Array technology of testing of rail and welds. xi. Deployment of Integrated Track Monitoring Systems (ITMS) and Oscillation Monitoring System (OMS) for comprehensive health assessment to ascertain optimal maintenance requirements. xii. Adoption of portable Track Measuring Trolley for continuous recording of track parameters in yards. xiii. Using web enabled Track Management System (TMS) for integration and data analytics of the track inspection records received through various sources to enable precise maintenance inputs. As a result of above measures, there has been significant increase in speed potential of the tracks. The details of speed potential of railway tracks during 2014 vis-a-vis 2026 are as under: 2014 2026 Sectional Speed (kmph) Track Km % Track Km % 130 & above 5,036 6.3 24,173 22.5 110 - 130 26,409 33.3 62,482 58.1 < 110 47,897 60.4 20,897 19.4 Total 79,342 100 1,07,552 100 Page 3 of 11Punjab: Railway Budget: Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in the Punjab is as under: Period Outlay 2009-14 ₹225 crore/year 2026-27 ₹ 5,673 Cr. (More than 25 times) Projects Sanctioned: As on 01.04.2026, 11 projects (06 new line and 05 doubling) of total length 745 Km, costing Rs.24,708 crore, falling fully/partly in the Punjab including Fatehgarh Sahib are sanctioned. The summary is as under:- Category No. of Total Length Expenditure upto project Length Commissi March 2025 s oned (Rs.in Crore) New line 06 283 Km 75 Km 9,246 Doubling /multitrack 05 462 Km 80 Km 1,631 ing Total 11 745 Km 155 Km 10,878 Recently Completed Projects: Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in the Punjab are as under: S. Cost Project No. (Rs. in Cr.) 1 Chakki Bank-Bharoli Doubling (3 Km) 15 2 Jakhal- Mansa Doubling (45 Km) 163 3 Mirthal-Bhangala Beas River Doubling (3 Km) 74 Page 4 of 114 Ambala-Dhapper-Chandigarh Doubling (45 Km) 339 5 Mansa – Bhatinda Doubling (49 Km) 216 6 Amritsar - Chheharta Doubling (7 Km) 31 Jallandhar-Pathankot-Jammu Tawi Doubling (209 850 7 km) Kathua-Madhopur Punjab - doubling including 257 8 Bridge on Ravi (3 Km) 9 Rajpura-Bhatinda Doubling (173 Km) 2,459 Ongoing Projects: Some of the projects falling fully/partly in the Punjab including Fatehgarh Sahib which have been taken up are as under: SN. Project Cost (Rs. in Cr.) 1 Nangal Dam-Talwara - Mukerian New line (123 Km) 3,726 2 Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri New Line(63 Km) 13,770 3 Qadian-Beas New Line(40 km) 842 4 Ferozpur-Patti New Line (26 Km) 764 5 Rama Mandi( Raman)-Maur Mandi(Maur) via 154 Talwandi Sabo ( 29 km) New Line 6 Ludhiana-Kila Raipur doubling (19 Km) 260 7 Ludhiana-Mullanpur doubling (21 Km) 359 8 Rajpura-Mohali New Line (18 km) 443 9 Rajpura Bypass line (14 km) 412 Page 5 of 11Details of some major projects which are delayed due to land acquisition are as under: - SN Name of the project Total land Land Balance Land to required acquired be acquired (in Ha) (in Ha) (in Ha) 1 Firozpur-Patti new line 166 0 166 2 Alal-Himmatana Chord 20 0 20 line 3 Qadian-Beas New Line 167 0 167 4 Rama Mandi( Raman)- 192 0 192 Talwandi Sabo New Line Details of Projects delayed on account of State Govt: Firozpur-Patti New line (26 km): Firozpur-Patti New line (26 km) situated fully in Punjab is an important project near the international border. This project was sanctioned in the year 2017-18 at a cost of Rs.300 crore. Land for this project was to be handed over free of cost by State Government of Punjab. However, land acquisition was not done by State Government. Total 166 Ha land is to be acquired in the districts of Firozpur and Tarn Taran. Considering importance of this project on strategic consideration, it has been decided to take up this new line project at Central Government cost including land acquisition. Now, Land acquisition is in advanced stage and Award has been declared. Page 6 of 11Rama Mandi-Sadda Singhwala New Line via Talwandi Sabo (43 km): To provide direct rail connectivity to Talwandi Sabo, the work of new rail line between Rama Mandi to Sadda Singhwala via Talwandi Sabo was sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs. 231 Crore. Land for this project was to be handed over free of cost by State Government of Punjab. However, land acquisition was not started by State Government of Punjab even after passage of several years . Considering importance of this project for providing direct connectivity to Takht Shri Damdama Sahib at Talwandi Sabo, it has been decided to take up this new line project at Central Government cost including land acquisition. The project has been declared as special Railway Project and land acquisition has been taken up. Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA) has also been nominated for taking up land acquisition. Qadian – Beas New line (40 km): Qadian-Beas (40 Km) New Rail Line Project was sanctioned in 2011-12. However, the project could not be taken forward due to law and order issues. The project was then kept in abeyance. However, considering importance of this project, it has been decided to take up the work again. The project has been declared as special Railway Project. Government of India is geared up to execute projects, however success depends upon the support of Government of Punjab. Page 7 of 11Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include the following:  Land acquisition by State Government  Forest clearance  Shifting of infringing utilities  Statutory clearances from various authorities  Geological and topographical conditions of area  Law and order situation in the area of project site  Number of working months in a year for particular project site etc. All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project/s Train Services: At Present, there is no direct rail link between Rajpura and Sahibzada Ajeet Singh Nagar (Mohali). Further, no direct passenger train services are available from Bathinda, Patiala and Ludhiana to directly connect Sahibzada Ajeet Singh Nagar (Mohali) via Rajpura. The direct route from Ludhiana to Mohali is via Sanehwal with no engine reversal. However, presently goods train movement is done from Dhuri/Bathinda to Sirhind side by engine reversal at Rajpura. The direct route from Delhi to Chandigarh is via Ambala Cantt. without passing through Sahibzada Ajeet Singh Nagar (Mohali). The new proposed route can provide additional means of connectivity to Chandigarh via Sahibzada Ajeet Singh Nagar (Mohali). Presently, Chandigarh - Delhi sector is served by 21 pairs of trains as listed below:- SN Train No. and Name 1 14217/14218 Prayagraj Sangam - Chandigarh Express Page 8 of 112 12217/12218 Thiruvananthapuram North - Chandigarh Express 3 22447/22448 New Delhi - Amb Andaura Vande Bharat Express 4 22455/22456 Sainagar Shirdi - Kalka Express 5 12011/12012 New Delhi - Kalka Shatabdi Express 6 22451/22452 Bandra (T)- Chandigarh Express 7 22685/22686 Yesvantpur - Chandigarh Express 8 20977/20978 Ajmer - Chandigarh Vande Bharat Express 9 12449/12450 Madgaon Junction - Chandigarh Express 10 14331/14332 Delhi - Kalka Express 11 12005/12006 New Delhi - Kalka Shatabdi Express 12 12045/12046 New Delhi - Chandigarh Shatabdi Express 13 13051/13052 Howrah - Kalka Express 14 18101/18102 Tatanagar - Jammu Tawi Express 15 18309/18310 Sambalpur - Jammu Tawi Express 16 20493/20494 Madurai - Chandigarh Express 17 11905/11906 Agra Cantt - Hoshiarpur Express 18 12925/12926 Bandra (T)- Amritsar Express 19 22709/22710 Nanded - Amb Andaura Express 20 12057/12058 New Delhi - Daulatpur Chowk Jan Shatabdi Express 21 19307/19308 Indore - Una Himachal Express Page 9 of 11Similarly, Mohali - Delhi sector is served by 04 pairs of trains as under:- SN Train No. and Name 1 12925/12926 Bandra Terminus - Amritsar Express 2 22709/22710 Nanded - Amb Andaura Express 3 12057/12058 New Delhi - Daulatpur Chowk Jan Shatabdi Express 4 19307/19308 Indore - Una Himachal Express Likewise, Mohali - Chandigarh sector is served by 28 train services, as under:- SN Train No. and Name 1 12057/12058 New Delhi - Daulatpur Chowk Jan Shatabdi Express 2 12411/12412 Chandigarh - Amritsar Express 3 12925/12926 Bandra (T) - Amritsar Express 4 14503/14504 Kalka - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Express 5 14541/14542 Chandigarh - Amritsar Express 6 14609/14610 Yog Nagari Rishikesh - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Express 7 14615/14616 Lalkua - Amritsar Express 8 19307/19308 Indore - Una Himachal Express 9 14629/14630 Chandigarh - Firozpur Cant Express Page 10 of 1110 19411/19412 Gandhinagar Capital - Daulatpur Chowk Express 11 22709/22710 Nanded - Amb Andaura Express 12 64563/64564 Raipur Hariyana - Amb Andaura MEMU 13 74991/74992 Ambala Cantt - Daulatpur Chowk DMU 14 64516 Nangal Dam - Ambala Cantt MEMU 15 74645 Ambala Cantt - Jalandhar City DMU Introduction of new train services, which is an on-going process, depends on various factors which include- ● Capacity of that section ● Availability of path ● Availability of required rolling stock ● Availability of matching infrastructure for rolling stock ● Maintenance requirement of railway tracks and other assets. ● Occupancy and the traffic requirement of the section ***** Page 11 of 11