Ambala gets 11 RoBs, 160 cr for Chd-Baddi line

Nitish Sharma

Tribune News Service

Ambala, February 25

The Ambala division has got 11 new railway overbridges (RoBs) and four subways in the Budget presented by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today.

Ambala Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Dinesh Kumar said: “It was a passenger-centric Budget with no fare hike and there was a focus on improving the basic facilities and services. A new railway line between Rajpura and Mohali has also been sanctioned.”

Of the total RoBs, four had been sanctioned between Ambala and Saharanpur, three each between Ambala andLudhiana and Sirhindand Ropar, while one between Kalka and Chandigarh, he said.

Three subways had been sanctioned between Sirhind and Ropar and one between Ambala and Ludhiana, he said.

The minister had also sanctioned Rs 25 crore for the already sanctioned Yamunanagar — Naraingarh rail line.

The actual requirement for the project was Rs 825 crore and half of the share was to be borne by the state government, he said, adding the Railways had sanctioned Rs 25 crore from its share.

To a query, the Divisional Railway Manager said: “Currently, the line is not financially viable, but it will definitely connect two regions and will be beneficial in future.”

“There was no proposal for any new line from the division. The sanctioned one was demanded by the MP of the region concerned in a meeting of MPs with the General Manager Railways recently in Delhi,” he said.

Another rail line sanctioned in the Budget would connect Panipat with Meerut (under Delhi division), hesaid, adding the 104 km line would be constructed at a cost of Rs 2,200 crore.

He said Rs 160 crore had been sanctioned for the Chandigarh-Baddi rail line, Rs 400 crore for doubling of the Rajpura-Bhatinda line and the extension of platform number 1 of Patiala railway station.

The DRM said: “By June, Ambala Cantonment and Chandigarh stations will have the wi-fi facilities. The passengers would have to fill their PNR number to get the one-time password to availthe facility.”

However, several proposals, including remodelling of Kalka’s yard (Rs 80 crore), replacement of CCTV cameras at Ambala Cantonment railwaystation and sewage treatment plant (Rs 5 crore) failed to get approval in the budget.

Nothing was mentioned about the earlier sanctioned rail bottling plant in Ambala and new trains and stoppages of many trains in the budget.