Work picks up pace on Mohali–Rajpura rail link after 50-year wait
Railways notifies acquisition of 17.7 hectares across three Mohali villages; project gathers momentum three months after Punjab initiated land process
The wheels of Punjab’s most long-awaited rail project are finally turning — and turning fast.
Three months after the Punjab government fired the first shot by initiating land acquisition for the Rs 443-crore Mohali-Rajpura broad-gauge rail link in November last year, the Ministry of Railways has now joined the charge, issuing a formal gazette notification for the acquisition of 17.7233 hectares of land across three villages in Mohali district — delivering the strongest signal yet that the half-century-old dream is no longer a mere promise on paper.
Chief Administrative Officer (Construction), Northern Railways, Shailesh Kumar Mishra has issued the notification dated February 19, under Section 20A of the Railways Act, 1989, covering 17.7233 hectares spread across Gobindgarh (2.4026 hectares), Saneta (9.1221 hectares), and Dhelpur (6.1986 hectares) villages under Mohali district in the State of Punjab — the first of three districts through which the 18-km greenfield line will pass.
The notification lists 115 khasra numbers in Gobindgarh, 288 in Saneta, and 286 in Dhelpur — covering a mix of privately held Chahi land and government-owned Gair Mumkin tracts — triggering a 30-day window during which any aggrieved person may file objections before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Mohali, who is the Competent Authority.
The significance
The Railways’ direct entry into the acquisition process is a decisive escalation. Until now, the Centre had committed funding, and Punjab had set the administrative machinery in motion — but the formal gazette notification by the Railways itself, listing specific khasra numbers, village-wise area statements, and designating a competent authority, transforms a policy intent into a legal and operational reality.
The notification covers an 18.11-km stretch of Northern Railway's Rajpura-Mohali New Rail Line (Mohali district), with the schedule running across three tehsils in Mohali.
The area statement confirms a total notified area of 17.7233 hectares — representing a significant portion of the total 54 hectares (134 acres) required for the full project across Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, and Patiala districts.
‘Gift from PM Modi to Punjab’: Ashwini Vaishnaw
“The Mohali-Rajpura rail link is not just a project — it is a promise kept. It fulfils a more than 50-year-old demand of the people of Punjab. This is truly a gift from Prime Minister Modi to Punjab’s farmers, industries, students, and pilgrims. PM Modi has made it a personal mission to give Punjab the rail network it deserves, and this gazette notification is proof that we mean business.” — Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Railways
“As a son of Punjab, I am proud that under PM Modi’s leadership, the Centre is not only funding this project entirely but is now moving with the speed that Punjab has never seen on a rail project before. The Mohali-Rajpura link will be transformative for Malwa’s connectivity to Chandigarh — for our farmers, our industry, our youth. This is the BJP-led Centre’s concrete gift to the border state.” — Ravneet Singh Bittu, Union Minister of State for Railways
Project dossier
Length: 18 km (new broad-gauge line)
Cost: Rs 443 crore (100% Centre-funded)
Total land required: 54 hectares (134 acres)
Districts covered: Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala
Land just notified: 17.7233 hectares (Mohali district)
Villages notified: Gobindgarh (2.4026 ha), Saneta (9.1221 ha), Dhelpur (6.1986 ha)
Nodal agency: Punjab Department of Revenue, Rehabilitation & Disaster Management
Implementation agency: Northern Railways
Expected timeline: 2–3 years from land handover
Timeline
Post-Independence (1950s–70s): Project first conceived; never moved beyond surveys
Decades of deferral: Funding gaps, weak traffic projections, Centre-State coordination failures
April 2025: Railways Ministry tells Parliament project stalled; location survey complete but alignment unresolved
September 23, 2025: Railways Minister Vaishnaw formally sanctions the project
November 12, 2025: Punjab government initiates land acquisition; Chief Secretary KAP Sinha chairs key inter-departmental meeting; Northern Railways directed to submit alignment plan
February 19, 2026: Ministry of Railways issues gazette notification for 17.7233 hectares across three Mohali villages — Railways formally enters acquisition process
Target: Operational by 2028 (subject to land handover and clearances)
What’s next
With the gazette notification now in force, objections, if any, must be filed within 30 days before the SDM, Mohali — the designated Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA). Simultaneously, the Punjab government is expected to notify SDMs in Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala districts as competent authorities for the remaining 36-odd hectares required.
Once land is acquired and handed over, Northern Railways will float tenders for civil works, track-laying, and electrification — targeting integration into the passenger and freight schedule by 2028.
PM Modi’s plan
The project is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s broader “Punjab rail renaissance” — a Rs 25,000-crore investment plan that includes station modernisation, Vande Bharat expansions, and freight corridors. Railway spending in Punjab has surged from an average of Rs 225 crore annually between 2009–14 to Rs 5,421 crore in 2025–26 — a 24-fold jump.
66-km detour
For Malwa’s commuters, farmers, and industry — long resigned to the 66-km Ambala detour — the notification is not just a legal formality. It is the sound of tracks being laid on five decades of patience.
