Chandigarh, Feb. 12 -- City MP Manish Tewari has urged union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to enhance rail connectivity by increasing train frequency, adding stoppages and introducing new services from Chandigarh railway station. Tewari also met the minister ahead of the Lok Sabha session and sought a review of cost and time overruns in the ongoing redevelopment of the station. Tewari asked whether the Centre had taken note of his repeated representations seeking improved rail connectivity from Chandigarh and SAS Nagar (Mohali), including demands for additional stoppages of superfast trains on the Katra and Amritsar routes, as well as better connectivity to Rajasthan. He sought details on whether the Railways had examined the feasibility of granting stoppages to Vande Bharat, Shatabdi, Sampark Kranti, Rajdhani and other superfast trains, citing the needs of students, professionals, lawyers and pilgrims. He also pressed for converting train number 22451/22452 (Chandigarh-Bandra) into a daily service and for introducing direct connectivity to destinations such as Khatushyam, Ajmer, Pushkar and Bikaner. In its written reply, the ministry of railways said that Chandigarh and SAS Nagar Mohali stations are currently connected to Vaishno Devi Katra by two pairs of trains each and to Amritsar by eight pairs of trains. It added that since the railway network operates across state boundaries, services are planned according to overall network requirements, and all trains passing through Chandigarh have scheduled stoppages there. The ministry further informed that Chandigarh is connected to key Rajasthan stations - Ringas (serving Khatu Shyam), Ajmer, Jaipur and Kota - by one pair, five pairs, four pairs and three pairs of trains, respectively. It also highlighted the introduction of the 20989/20990 Udaipur City-Chandigarh Express from September 27 last year, improving connectivity on the Chandigarh-Jaipur-Ajmer-Bhilwara-Udaipur route. On the demand to convert the bi-weekly 22451/22452 Bandra (T)-Chandigarh Express into a daily service, the ministry said Chandigarh is already connected to Mumbai by four pairs of trains, including the daily 12925/12926 Bandra (T)-Amritsar Paschim Express. The ministry of railways clarified that the introduction of new trains or an increase in frequency is an ongoing process and depends on factors such as line capacity, availability of train paths, rolling stock, supporting infrastructure and maintenance constraints. However, Tewari expressed dissatisfaction with the reply, stating that although it was detailed, it did not adequately reflect a development-oriented approach towards Chandigarh's growing connectivity needs....