New hope for Baddi rail link

The proposed route,linking the industrial town with the broad gauge,is shorter than the previous 33.75-kilometre line. And devoid of a hilly terrain,the new link is not expected to invite objections from the forest and other departments.

The Chandigarh-Baddi link ran into land-acquisition problems as it was to pass through an area earmarked for a mega housing project,Prideasia,a joint venture between Parsvnath Builders and the Chandigarh Administration. UT had clearly conveyed to the railways that no rail line would be allowed on the land and other forest areas,amounting to five kilometres. Playing safe,the authorities have this time bypassed Chandigarh and opted for a more feasible route.

During his visit to the city last month,Northern Railway General Manager Vivek Sahay had hinted at another feasibility survey of the Chandigarh-Baddi rail link. “Looking at the various objections made to the proposed line,the Northern Railways has dropped the project and sought alternatives to link Baddi with broad gauge. The best alternative at present is the link from Ghanauli,” confirmed Ambala Divisional Railway Manager H K Jaggi.

Ghanauli is a small station from where the Ropar-Nalagarh route takes a diversion. It is located between Ropar and Kiratpur on the Sirhind-Ropar-Bharatgarh-Kiratpur-Nangal Dam rail route. Ghanauli will be developed as a full-fledged station for the proposed link.

“The distance between Ghanauli and Baddi is around 30 km. The stretch is in a straight alignment,” added Jaggi. He said a detailed pre-feasibility study would be initiated soon to avoid further delays. All stations on the new route will be finalised thereafter. The cancelled route had six stations — Chandigarh,Saketri,Khuda Ali Sher,Kasauli Punjab,Khokara Nawanhnagar and Baddi. After a detailed study and budget allocation with an estimated cost of Rs 750.81 crore,the railways have to now start the entire process from scratch.