Centre Clears Rs 1,419 Crore For Punjab’s Long-Pending Qadian-Beas Railway Project

The Centre has approved a detailed estimate of Rs 1,419.05 crore for the long-pending 39.68-km Qadian-Beas broad gauge railway line in Punjab, giving a fresh push to a project that dates back nearly a century. The railway link is expected to improve connectivity across several parts of the Majha region and provide better access to the wider railway network. The project was originally approved in 1928-29 by the then North-Western Railway during the British era. Construction had progressed substantially by the early 1930s but was subsequently discontinued.

The proposal remained pending for decades before efforts were renewed to revive the railway link. Senior BJP leader and former Union minister of state for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu said the project was formally revived in June 2026 at an estimated cost of around Rs 1,400 crore. He said the latest Railway Board sanction has now approved the detailed estimate at Rs 1,419.05 crore. Bittu also said he had repeatedly raised the issue with the Railway Ministry and officials during his tenure as Union minister, seeking the project's revival and implementation.

The proposed railway line will pass through Qadian, Dhapai, Ghuman, Butala, Sathiala and Beas. According to Bittu, the project will bring several underserved areas of the Majha region into the railway network and improve connectivity for residents. Gurdaspur and Batala are also expected to benefit through improved access to the railway network via the Qadian corridor, while Beas will serve as an important connection point to the broader railway system. Bittu said the railway link could make transportation easier for residents, farmers, traders, students and pilgrims while strengthening economic links between towns and villages in the region.

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Improved rail connectivity could also provide an alternative for transporting agricultural produce and support greater movement of people between the connected areas. The project includes crossing stations at Ghuman and Butala, along with 11 major bridges and 121 minor bridges. It will also have 54 road underbridges, modern signalling and telecommunication systems and Kavach technology, India's indigenous automatic train protection system. The infrastructure is intended to support safer and more efficient railway operations along the proposed route.

Bittu said land acquisition should now be treated as the immediate priority so that construction-related work can move forward. He urged the Punjab government to complete the process without delay and argued that lack of funds should not be cited as a reason for holding up the acquisition process. According to Bittu, up to Rs 3,725 crore is available with respective deputy commissioners for land acquisition. He said land for the project had already been identified and demarcation had been carried out, arguing that the remaining process should therefore be completed through administrative action.

“The Centre and the Railways have done their job,” Bittu said, adding that the focus should now be on execution. Bittu also urged the Punjab chief secretary, deputy commissioners and sub-divisional magistrates to accelerate land acquisition and complete other state-level formalities. He said he had repeatedly written to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann regarding ongoing railway projects and the need to expedite land acquisition.

According to Bittu, his latest letter, dated July 23, specifically requested immediate action on the Qadian-Beas project and related formalities, but he had not received a response. The approval comes less than six months before the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, adding political significance to the revival of a railway project that has remained stalled for decades. With the detailed estimate now sanctioned, the next major step will be completion of land acquisition and other administrative procedures required before the project can progress towards construction.

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