SHRI SURESH PRABHAKAR PRABHU DEDICATES JIND-SONIPAT NEW RAIL LINE TO THE NATION AND LAUNCHES SEVERAL NEW INITIATIVES AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN THE AUGUST PRESENCE OF HON’BLE CHIEF MINISTERS OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT A CEREMONIAL FUNCTION AT CHANDIGARH TODAY

SHRI SURESH PRABHAKAR PRABHU DEDICATES JIND-SONIPAT NEW RAIL LINE TO THE NATION AND LAUNCHES SEVERAL NEW INITIATIVES AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

IN THE AUGUST PRESENCE OF HON’BLE CHIEF MINISTERS OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT A CEREMONIAL FUNCTION AT CHANDIGARH TODAY

Maiden Passenger Service Between Jind-Sonipat Flagged-off Today

74020/74019 Jind Jn.-Sonipat- Jind Jn. Six-Days-A-Week (Except Sunday) DEMU Train and One Pair of Rewari-Rohtak DEMU trains extended upto Jind from 27.06.2016 Inauguration of New Mechanized Laundry at Chandigarh 

Laying of Foundation Stone for a New Coaching & Maintenance Unit at Chheharta (Near Amritsar)

Provision of Additional Passenger Amenities at Chandigarh Railway Station  Laying of Foundation Stone for 17 Lifts & 10 Escalators at Various stations And  Laying of Foundation Stone for Limited Height Subways (LHS) at 37 Locations

Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Hon’ble Minister for Railways dedicated the 81 Km Sonipat-Jind New Rail Line to the nation by flagging- off the inaugural Passenger Train Service between Sonipat-Jind through video-conferencing in the august presence of Shri Manohar Lal, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Haryana at a ceremony held today i.e. 26.06.2016 at Chandigarh Railway station. On the occasion, he also dedicated newly constructed Platforms No. 4 & 5 and Foot-over- Bridge at Sonipat Railway station to the nation besides inaugurating Mechanized Laundry at Chandigarh and also introduced new Passenger Amenities at Chandigarh Railway Station. He also laid foundation-stones for construction of a New Coaching & Maintenance Unit at Chheharta (Near Amritsar), provision of passenger conveniences like Lifts & Escalators at various stations and erection of Limited Height Subways (LHS) at 37 Locations for rail-road crossing users in the States of Punjab and Haryana. The Railway has planned for a synchronized programme including all rail development facilities and constructions in the States of Punjab and Haryana along with development plans for Chandigarh on the same occasion.

Shri Arun Sood, Hon’ble Mayor, Chandigarh, Shri. Adaish Partap Singh Kairon, Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Information and Technology and Food Processing, Government of Punjab, Shri Prem Singh Chandumajra, MP (Lok Sabha), Anandpur Sahib (Punjab) and Shri Sarvesh Kaushal, Chief Secretary, Punjab were the distinguished guests at the ceremony at Chandigarh station. 

Shri Ramesh Chander Kaushik, Hon’ble MP (Lok Sabha) was the distinguished guest on the occasion at the parallel ceremony held at Sonipat Railway Station.

Senior Railway officers present at Chandigarh include Shri A.K. Puthia General Manager, Northern Railway. Shri Dinesh Kumar Divisional Railway Manager, Northern Railway, Ambala and Shri Anuj Prakash, Divisional Railway Manager, Northern Railway, Firozpur.

JIND-SONIPAT NEW RAIL LINE:

The commissioning of 81 Km Jind-Sonipat railway link provides direct rail connectivity between these two cities and would afford a very convenient mode of travel. Prior to this new rail line, the existing rail link was a detour via Delhi/New Delhi at 171 kms and via Rohtak/Panipat at 116 kms. The estimated cost of the project is Rs.740.80 Cr. The rail line includes building of 159 bridges, of which 16 are Major bridges and 143 minor bridges. The rail line also includes construction of a Road-over-Bridge and a Road-Under-Bridge besides 37 level-crossings. There are thus 13 railway stations on this section of which 10 are new railway stations. Pandu Pindara, Gohana & Sonepat, Bhambhewa & Mohana, Lalit Khera, Ishapur Kheri, Butana, Khandrai, Rabrah, Lath & Barwasni

REGULAR RUN OF 74020/74019 JIND JN.- SONIPAT- JIND JN. SIX-DAYS-A-WEEK (EXCEPT SUNDAY) DEMU TRAIN FROM 27.06.2016

Following the inaugural service, the regular services of the new DEMU train between Jind Jn. and Sonipat will commence from 27.06.2016 as under:-

The 74020 Jind Jn.-Sonipat Six-Days-A-Week (Except Sunday) DEMU train will depart from Jind Jn. at 10.30 a.m. to reach Sonipat at 12.50 p.m. the same day while in the return direction, the 74019 Sonipat- Jind Jn. Six-Days-A-Week (Except Sunday) DEMU train will depart from Sonipat at 01.10 p.m. to reach Jind Jn. at 03.20 p.m. the same day from 27.06.016 from both the directions.

The 74020/74019 Jind Jn.- Sonipat- Jind Jn. Six-Days-A-Week (Except Sunday) DEMU train will stop at Jind City, Pandu Pindara, Lalat Khera, Bhameva, Isapur Kheri, Butana, Khandrai, Gohana, Rabrah, Lath, Mohana & Barwasni stations enroute in both the directions.

EXTENSION OF REWARI-ROHTAK DEMU TRAINS UPTO JIND:

Northern Railway will be extending the run of DEMU Train No. 74015/74016 Rewari Jn. – Rohtak - Rewari Jn. Upto Jind Jn. from 27.06.2016 with revised timings & revision in timings of DEMU Train No. 74017/74018 Rewari Jn. – Rohtak- Rewari Jn.

DEDICATION OF NEW PLATFORMS NO. 4 & 5 AND FOOT-OVER- BRIDGE AT SONIPAT RAILWAY STATION TO THE NATION:

To cater to the increase in fleet of passenger trains, Northern Railway has constructed two new platforms besides commissioning a new Foot-over-Bridge at Sonipat for the convenience of rail passengers.

INAUGURATION OF NEW MECHANIZED LAUNDRY, WATER VENDING MACHINE AT CHANDIGARH AND ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC FACILITIES AT CHANDIGARH

Mechanized Laundry: To provide better quality of linen to rail passengers in air-conditioned coaches, Northern Railway has provided a new departmental mechanized laundry at Chandigarh station of 2 Ton capacity at a cost of approx. Rs.19.2 crore. In the first phase, the Laundry shall cater to the linen-washing needs of Chandigarh and Saharanpur depots and later extend to include Kalka and Ambala Depots. A RO water vending machine at Chandigarh Station was also inaugurated by the dignitaries.

The additional traffic facilities being provided at Chandigarh include provision of a new high level passenger platform No. 6 (600x10 m) alongwith new track of line No. 8 at Chandigarh Railway station besides provision of one stabling line (570m) alongwith 400m RCC retaining wall. These works were sanctioned in the year 2013-14 at an estimated cost of Rs. 15.27 cr. The work of stabling line is under progress. Northern Railway envisages commissioning these facilities along with the commissioning of Dhappar-Chandigarh doubling project. The progress of works is in advance stage and platform No. 6, line No. 8 and 400m long RCC retaining wall has been completed.

FOUNDATION-STONE FOR CONSTRUCTION OF LIMITED HEIGHT SUBWAYS IN THE STATE OF PUNJAB AT 37 LOCATIONS: 

To ensure safety of road users and improve train operation, level-crossings are planned for a phased elimination. In terms of feasibility and assessment studies, Northern Railway plans to constructLimited Height Subways in the state of Punjab at 37 locations at an estimated cost of Rs.68 crore. The level-crossings are located on the Dhuri-Jakhal, Kartarsinghwala-Bathinda Cantt bye pass line and Mansa-Bathinda, Dhuri-Bathinda, Bathinda-Sri Ganganagar – Abohar yard, Phillaur-Lohian Khas, Jalandhar-Firozepur, Ambala-Ludhiana and Sirhind-Nangal Dam sections in the districts of Sangrur, Bathinda, Barnala, Fazilka, Jalandhar, Firozepur, Patiala, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib and Roop Nagar.

FOUNDATION-STONE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF COACHING CUM MAINTENANCE FACILITIES AT CHHEHRATA STATION NEAR AMRITSAR

Northern Railway envisages to develop a coaching and maintenance unit at at Chheharta 7Km from Amritsar on Amritsar Attari line. Sanctioned in the year 2013-14 , the estimated cost of the project is Rs. 61.2 crore of which the current year’s outlay is Rs. 10 cr. This would decongest the Amritsar yard. The work incudes construction of One end platform, One island platform, two No. washing lines, One sick line Shed, Mechanical Administrative office, four stabling lines besides Station building and auxiliary electrification from Amritsar to Chheharta.

PROVISION OF 17 LIFTS AND 10 ESCALATORS AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA

A total of 92 escalators at an abstract cost of Rs. 59.7 Crores was sanctioned over Northern Railway. The Cost per Escalator is Rs. 69 Lakh. Each escalator has Carrying capacity of 9000 passengers per hour (150 passengers per minute) with in-built safety features viz. Temporary stoppage in case of any defect, Work as normal stair -case in case of power failures, Emergency stop button to disconnect electric power and activate brakes, detection devices available for missing steps. These are Heavy duty escalators suitable for working 20 Hours in a day & 7 days a week. The escalator Steps is made of corrosion-proof Casting-grade Aluminum Alloy, having sufficient mechanical strength and good construction to carry peak load of passengers without distortion and also includes traffic Direction lights of distinct colors to indicate its movement to approaching passengers. Thus prevent their wrong entry. 

A total of 86 Lifts at a total cost of Rs. 21.5 Crores sanctioned over Northern Railway The total Cost per Lift is Rs.25 Lacs. Each lift has Carrying capacity of 13 passengers and includes features viz. Stainless steel scratch proof car enclosure, Automatic Rescue Device for bringing the lift to the floor level in case of power failure, Overloading protection , Infra-Red Safety Light Curtain on the doors for safety of passengers, Battery Operated Emergency Alarm, Emergency Stop button besides provision for the disabled & handicapped has been kept such as Braille Notations, accessibility of operating panel of the lift by a person sitting on wheel chair.

Speaking on the occasion, the Hon’ble Railway Minister stated that the commissioning of the new rail line today marks a turning point and would be highly convenient mode of travel.The new rail line is also the Shortest passage to Delhi for hinterland villages and urban areas in these districts and would result in great savings in times as it is also a very short route from Rewari to Sonepat with reduced distance. This would also have operational benefits for railways viz. avoiding congestion in Delhi area besides eliminating engine reversal at Gohana. Stating that strengthening of infrastructure would remain a key component in the country’s growth, Shri Prabhu said that capacity upgradation would remain a top priority for the Railways along with progressive extension of people-centric initiatives.

Source:Northern Railway