RailEnquiry

The increasing traffic on the city roads has compelled the UT Administration to mull over alternative routes to reduce congestion. To improve connectivity between the Chandigarh Railway Station and the Airport, the UT Administration has proposed a new road connecting the two destinations.For construction of the road that would stretch around 2.5 kilometre, some land will be acquired from the Railways. Apart from this stretch, several other proposals have also been mooted for enhancing connectivity between various destinations.At present, there is no direct connectivity between the Railway Station and the Airport. Those who have to commute between the two destinations have to take a longer route. The new road is expected to shorten the distance. The road will be from in front of Daria village and connect to another road that leads to the Airport.Chief Engineer S K Chadha said that once land was acquired from the Railways, the road would be constructed. He added that the road would facilitate those commuting between these two destinations and ease traffic congestion.Apart from this, there are certain other proposals that have been mooted for increasing connectivity with the Airport. These are part of the draft Master Plan 2031 for the city. With the new terminal being under construction on Mohali side, it is desired that this should be accessible from Chandigarh. An underground tunnel connecting the old and new terminal is proposed to be constructed.

Another option being mulled over is connectivity from Purv Marg near Sector 48. Connectivity from Zirakpur side is also in the pipeline to enable easy accessibility from all sides. The Chandigarh Administration has already raised the issue with High-Powered Inter-State Coordination Committee constituted by the Centre.

The increasing vehicular population in Chandigarh is raising the necessity for providing alternative roads to different destinations. The total daily traffic studies at outer cordon points indicate that about 1,52,650 vehicles enter or leave Chandigarh Urban Complex on a typical working day. There is also high through passenger and freight traffic across the city.Madhya Marg is thought to be the worst affected of the roads since it provides the shortest and direct connection between the towns of Punjab, including Mullanpur, Kharar and Anandpur Sahib on the west. On the eastern side, Manimajra, Panchkula, Pinjore, Kalka and Chandimandir Cantonment in Haryana as well as some towns of Himachal Pradesh are connected through this. The through traffic across the city had added to the congestion on the road.

The Master Plan points out that the well-defined hierarchy of roads has been disturbed due to the inter-city traffic and the increased traffic within the city. It is said that at some places, the roads are approaching their capacity while at others these are serving more than their capacity. Alternative roads to Panchkula have already been planned. An overbridge to remove traffic bottleneck at level crossing at Mauli Jagran is under construction while another has been approved for the crossing at Manimajra. This would provide additional routes to Panchkula.