Major Rail infra projects going on in Malwa region of Punjab, mainly, Rajpura-Patiala-Dhuri-Bathinda doubling and Rajpura-Patiala-Dhuri-Lehra Mohabat Electrification have picked up pace, with railways speeding up these two major rail infra projects. Hopefully, if all goes well, we'll be able to see double electrified track from Rajpura-Patiala-Dhuri-Bathinda in the coming years. As per railways, these projects shall be completed within 3-4 years of time. The doubling is being done in phased manner, mainly the Rajpura-Patiala-Kakrala section is in Zone -1 and Northern Railway Construction Organization shall be starting the work on Zone-1 soon. On the other side Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. is executing the electrification work on Rajpura-Patiala-Dhuri-Lehra Mohabat section. Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. is also working in tandem with PSPCL to raise the height of their power line crossings of 11kv, 33kv etc., so as the 25kv OHE should have maximum clearance to avoid any damage. For railways, the Rajpura-Patiala-Dhuri-Bathinda...
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section is strategically and commercially very important, as it connects directly with Kandla and Mundra ports in Gujrat, from where the coal movement is there on this section to various Thermal Power Plants in North. This section is also very important for loading and transportation of Food Grains, Petrol, Cement and Fertilisers to other parts of the country. And above all, it is strategically important for military movement as Bathinda is one of the major cantonments of India. The Rajpura-Patiala-Dhuri-Bathinda section is also an identified feeder route of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor, which connects Ludhiana in Punjab with Dankuni in West Bengal for smooth transition of freight trains.
Apart from this, the new line from Rajpura-Mohali also got sanctioned in this year's railway budget, and as per railway officials, it shall also be completed within 3 years, and shall provide direct link between the Malwa region of Punjab and state capital, Chandigarh.