Chandigarh, Sept. 24 -- Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday announced a new Rajpura-Mohali railway line in Punjab, costing Rs.443 crore and spanning 18km, besides proposing a new Vande Bharat train connecting Ferozepur cantonment with New Delhi via Bathinda and Patiala. Vaishnaw said that the long-awaited demand to build the Rajpura-Mohali railway line that will directly connect the state's capital, Chandigarh, with the Malwa region has been approved. "Earlier, trains from Ludhiana had to go through Ambala to reach Chandigarh, adding extra distance and time. Now, there will be a direct connection between Rajpura and Mohali, reducing travel distance by approximately 66 km," Vaishnaw said during a press conference in which Union minister of state for railways Ravneet Bittu was also present. Vaishnaw also highlighted a significant increase in railway investment in Punjab from Rs.225 crore during 2009-14 to Rs.5,421 crore now. Bittu said the Rajpura-Mohali connection was a long-pending demand of Punjab, and the state was striving to set up the line for the past few decades. "However, the project could not see the light of day, to date, as many times, the proposal was rejected because the state could not submit money. This will be the first project in Punjab that will be fully funded by the railway ministry. Earlier projects used to be on cost cost-sharing between the state government and the ministry of railways. With this, the Modi government has fulfilled the 50-year-old demand of the people of Punjab," Bittu said. Vaishnaw stated that because the land for the project has to be acquired by the state government as per the federal system, even as the cost would be shared by the railways. "Immediately after the acquisition of the land, work on the construction would start," he said. Vaishnaw also gave credit for the railway line to his colleague in the ministry, Bittu. "Let me tell you, Bittu ji has been constantly following the execution of the railway line, starting from conducting surveys and getting it passed in the railway board," he said. Bittu said all 13 districts of the Malwa region will now be well-connected with Chandigarh. "It will ease traffic on the existing Rajpura-Ambala route and shorten the Ambala-Morinda link. Among all the available options, this route was chosen because it requires the least agricultural land acquisition, ensuring minimal impact on farming activities," said Bittu. The ministers also announced that railways at present are undertaking projects worth Rs.25,000 crore in Punjab, and all these projects are currently under execution. "Punjab has got nearly a 24 times hike in its budget allocation under the present government since 2014. Now, Punjab has got over Rs.5,000 crore of the railway budget compared to earlier, which used to be around Rs.225 crore before 2014," said Vaishnaw. The ministers also revealed that a proposal for a new Vande Bharat Express, running from Ferozepur cantonment to Delhi via Bathinda and Patiala, has been prepared and is expected to be approved soon by PM. Vaishnaw said at present, five pairs of Vande Bharat trains are operating in the state. "Punjab has achieved 100% electrification of its 1,634 km railway track network, and 30 stations are currently being developed as Amrit Stations," he said....