Jaito, November 12:- The Ferozepur Railway Division said in a statement today that the Railway Ministry has approved the Ferozepur-Patti Rail Link Project. This project will be 25.72 km long and its estimated cost is ?764.19 crore, out of which ?166 crore will be for land acquisition which will be borne by the Railways. Giving this information during a media briefing today, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Union Minister of State for Railways said that this project is very important from both strategic and economic points of view.
With this, the distance between Ferozepur and Amritsar will be reduced from 196 km to about 100 km, while the Jammu-Ferozepur-Fazilka-Mumbai corridor will be reduced by 236 km. This project will prove to be an important link between Malwa and Majha regions, which will improve regional transport and logistics connectivity. Thanking the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi Ji, Home Minister Shri Amit Shah Ji, and Railway Minister Shri Ashwini Vaishnav Ji, Bittu said that this is a historic gift for Punjab.
The new rail line will connect the Jalandhar-Ferozepur and Patti-Khemkaran routes, thereby establishing a direct and alternative connection near the international border. This route passes through areas of strategic defence importance, which will enable fast movement of military personnel, material and supplies.
Ravneet Singh Bittu said that apart from the strategic benefits, this project will have huge social and economic benefits. It will directly and indirectly benefit about 10 lakh people and create about 2.5 lakh employment opportunities. This rail line will facilitate 2,500 to 3,500 passengers every day, which will especially benefit students, workers and patients in villages.
This rail link will boost trade and industrial development, reduce freight transport costs and facilitate access to agricultural markets. This will increase investment in education, health and other infrastructure. The new rail line will provide fast and strong connectivity to Amritsar, which is a commercial, educational and religious hub and sees over one lakh tourists every day.
Most importantly, this new route will revive the historic line lost at the time of partition, reducing the distance between Ferozepur and Khemkaran from 294 km to 110 km. DRM Ambala Shri Vinod Bhatia, CPM/Construction Shri Ajay Varshanai, CPM/RLDA Shri Balbir Singh, ADRM/Ferozepur Shri Nitin Garg and Shri Dhananjay Singh, EDPG/Railway Minister of State were also present there.