Hopes rise for Malwa, as Northern Railway lists Rajpura-Mohali link in 25-26 plan
A sum of Rs 203 crore has been allocated for land acquisition and construction of the rail link. Residents have complained that a strong private transport lobby had been obstructing such a project, which would connect the Abohar-Bathinda line directly to Chandigarh, currently linked only up to Rajpura. Congress MP Dharmavira Gandhi and Union minister of state for railways Ravneet Bittu played significant roles in advancing the project.
The project is listed at serial number 458 under the heading "New Lines" in the list of other projects for 2025-26. Although approved in 2017, it was not completed due to various reasons.
People from Malwa have accused successive govts of succumbing to the transport lobby and not advocating strongly enough with the railways ministry. When Congress MP Pawan Kumar Bansal, a native of Tapa in Malwa, became railways minister, there were high hopes, but the project still did not come to fruition.
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Residents from Abohar and Bathinda areas who travel to Chandigarh have had to alight at Rajpura and find alternative transport, such as buses, to reach Chandigarh. Gandhi said, "I approached various authorities, both now and during my last stint as MP from 2014 to 2019, to get this project sanctioned and funds allocated. Now, after many years, the railways have included this project in its pink book for 2025-26 and allocated Rs 202.99 crore for land acquisition and completion.
Further details need to be worked out." He added Bittu also played a constructive role in securing final clearance for the project.
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