Under-utilised, no plan of doubling Bathinda-Ferozepur rail link: Centre

Vibha Sharma 
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 17

There is no plan of doubling the 87-km Bathinda to Ferozepur Cantonment rail link, the government on Wednesday specified in response to question by Punjab’s Congress MPs Jasbir Singh Dimpa and Muhamad Sadiq in the Lok Sabha.

Minister of State for Railways Suresh Channabasappa Angadi said at present the line was working at the capacity of 65 per cent. “Doubling of tracks depends upon the commercial viability and demand from different areas. As of now, it is working on 65 per cent on single line,” he said. Regarding completion of the Patti-Ferozepur link, the minister said it has been two years and the possession of land has not yet been given. “It is a joint venture project, the Punjab government has to give land. Then we can proceed further,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, Angadi said electrification of existing single line of Bathinda–Ferozepur sanctioned at a cost of Rs 223.93 crore in September, 2018, will be completed by March 2022. With completion of electrification, section capacity will further increase. Therefore, doubling of Bathinda to Ferozepur was not carried forward. If industry demands and it is economically viable we will consider it, he said.

Doubling, third line and fourth line projects are sanctioned on the basis of operational requirement of Railways, including capacity constraints in existing single line. Accordingly, engineering-cum-traffic survey for doubling of Bathinda and Ferozepur was conducted in 2015-16, he said.

As per Data of Survey report, capacity of single line is not fully utilised. Capacity utilisation of Ferozepur Cantt- Kotkapura section was only 65% and Kotkapura-Bathinda section only 90% with maintenance block in 2017-18, he added.