Way back in 1997-98, Railways approved the project of doubling the vital Jalandhar – Pathankot – Jammu Tawi railway line, a total distance of 211 kilometers. Actual work of doubling the line began in 2002. It is about fourteen years that the project is in hand. For various technical reasons, the project had to be undertaken sector-wise keeping in mind the requirements of the line. At the time of floating the project the estimated cost of doubling was calculated to be 408 crore rupees but as the completion year has been stretched to 2018, there is every likelihood that the cost will also escalate and go up considerably. That aspect has not been taken into account.
In 211 km long section, there are 26 stations in between, 406 minor bridges and 88 major bridges, including bridges across river Beas, Chakki, Ravi, Ujh and Basantar. Of these two bridges, over Ravi and Beas being of 850 and 700 meter length respectively, remain to be completed though lower structure work has been in progress. The upper structure work is supposed to take two more years for completion which means that the doubling of the railway line will be completed by 2018.
This is the main line of Northern Railways and there is no need to over-emphasize its importance. Once the doubling of the line is completed it will further reduce the travel time for passenger as well as goods trains. The doubling of this line was of utmost urgency for two reasons. One is that it is a crucial line for movement of defence personnel, armaments and materials. It is the life line for defence supplies to the entire northern border with Pakistan and China. Secondly, keeping in mind the large inflow of pilgrim tourists to the holy cave of Mata Vaishno Devi, now almost having reached 1.20 crore annually, quick railway transport arrangement have become a priority. Additionally, Punjab being the granary of India and the line running through the heart of Punjab, transportation of food grains to various parts of the country, especially to the northern State of Jammu and Kashmir attains much importance.
All bridges small and big are built by the railways which have a large contingent of technocrats highly skilled in their job. We expected that the doubling would be completed this year as was announced earlier. However, two obstacles surfaced that delayed completion of work. One was the litigation over the acquisition of land for the doubling of the line and the second was deficiency of funds. It appears that both of these obstacles have been finally surmounted. Land acquisition issue has been resolved and funding has begun to flow without hurdles. This has brightened the prospect of completing the task by 2018. We hope that this date will be kept by the railways and that no further obstacles will surface
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