RailEnquiry

Chandigarh: High on the agenda of new Union Railway Minister Pawan Bansal are the early commissioning of the much-delayed Chandigarh-Ludhiana link and the redress of complaints of rail users of Punjab and Chandigarh. He also plans to make Chandigarh a modern rail hub.Though “all the regions and states are equally important”, the demands of this region that have been ignored over the years would be taken up on a priority basis, he said in a brief interview with The Tribune.The Bathinda-Amritsar, Barnala-Mansa-Sardulgarh-Sirsa, Patti-Makhu, Gurdaspur-Dera Baba Nanak, Samrala-Rahon and Amritsar-Anandpur Sahib rail links have been high on the demand list of Punjab. The Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link was planned and cleared in the late 90s. Even after 20 years, it is yet to be completed. The Railways is now hoping to commission this much-hyped link by early next year as the work on the final Samrala-Sahnewal is nearing completion.The Amritsar-Anandpur Sahib rail link cannot be commissioned without the Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link. Both Amritsar and Anandpur Sahib are important religious places of Sikhs and house two of the five ‘Takhts’.It was a few months ago that after a long struggle, residents of Fazilka and Abohar got a train running between their two towns.Besides these rail links, work on over a score of rail overbridges has been pending for decades for want of technical clearance from the Railways. Several projects have been held up as they haven’t been supplied with electricity.In fact, Pawan Bansal has his hands full with long-standing demands of Punjab rail users. Though Buta Singh was a Minister of State for Railways and even Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had held the additional charge of Railways in the recent past, both Punjab and Chandigarh have now staked their claims on the first Union Railway Minister from the state.“The Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link is important not only for Chandigarh but for the whole of Punjab as it provides much-needed affordable connectivity with the rest of the state. I will need some time to understand the functioning of this department so that all regions and states get their due.“I can assure you that Punjab and Chandigarh will no longer suffer as every effort will be made to consider and accept every genuine demand of rail users here. At the same time, without understanding the working of this major department, it will not be prudent to talk of any new or major projects. Time may be the limiting factor but I will do my best to live up to the expectations of the people,” said Pawan Bansal.The task for Pawan Bansal may not be easy as the fiscal health of the Ministry of Railways is not what he would have wanted it to be.