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Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav told in Rajya Sabha today that Nangal Dam-Daulatpur Chowk rail section has become operational in Himachal. Work on Chandigarh-Baddi and Baddi-Ghanauli line is going on at a fast pace, but work on Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri project is stuck due to Himachal government.
New Delhi. Now train whistles are going to resonate louder in many other areas of Himachal Pradesh. The central government has given a new impetus to rail connectivity. The 60 km long section from Nangal Dam to Daulatpur Chowk has been fully operational. Work has started on the new line from Daulatpur Chowk to Talwara and Chandigarh to Baddi. DPR of the new line from Baddi to Ghanoli has also been prepared. Work in Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri project is stuck because of Himachal government. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has given this information in Rajya Sabha.
Under the Nangal Dam-Talwara-Mukarian project, the Nangal Dam-Una-Andaura-Daulatpur Chowk portion has now been completely started. The work of 52 kilometers from Daulatpur Chowk to Talwara is also going on at a fast pace. Besides, work is also in full swing on Chandigarh-Baddi 28 km new line at a cost of Rs 1,540 crore. The survey of Baddi-Ghanauli 25 km line has been completed and DPR is ready. Survey and DPR have also been prepared for the Defense Ministry’s current railway line Bilaspur-Manali-Leh. This will be a 489 kilometer line, which will have 270 kilometers of tunnels and the estimated cost is Rs 1,31,000 crore.
reason for work getting stuck
The work of 63 kilometer new line Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri is stuck. This project is being built at 25% expense of Himachal and 75% of the Centre. The total cost was fixed at Rs 6,753 crore. Till now Rs 5,252 crore has been spent. But till now the Himachal government has given only 82 hectares of land, whereas 124 hectares are required. The land from Bilaspur to Beri has not been handed over yet. Himachal’s share was Rs 2,711 crore, out of which only Rs 847 crore has been deposited. The remaining Rs 1,863 crore is still outstanding.
What does the railway line depend on?
The Center has clearly said that it is completely ready, but the speed of the project depends on the cooperation of the Himachal Government. There has been a big increase in the budget for Himachal also. In 2009-14, the annual average was only Rs 108 crore, whereas in 2025-26, Rs 2,716 crore has been kept, that is, it has increased by more than 25 times.
The Railway Ministry says that in approving a new line, many factors like traffic estimation, first-last mile connectivity, demand from the state government and availability of funds are considered. There are also problems related to land, forest clearance and weather in completing the project.
