Socio-Economic Survey begins for Delhi-Amritsar High Speed Bullet Train Corridor

New Delhi, India (Metro Rail Today): The Union Ministry of Railways has initiated a socio-economic survey in Punjab for the construction of the high-speed railway corridor connecting Delhi, Chandigarh, and Amritsar. The land acquisition process for the corridor will commence once the socio-economic survey is completed.

IIM-Research, New Delhi, has been entrusted with conducting the socio-economic survey for the corridor, which will feature a dedicated 55-feet wide railway track for bullet trains, expected to operate at a speed of 320 km per hour. This high-speed rail is set to significantly reduce the travel time between Amritsar and Delhi from the current five hours to just two hours.

IIM-Research has formed 12 teams and deployed them in Fatehgarh Sahib and Mohali districts to engage with residents whose land may be acquired for the project.

Mahendra Pratap, a representative of IIM-Research, conducting the survey in Dadiana village, Fatehgarh Sahib district, mentioned that their mission is to primarily acquire agricultural land. They are assessing whether the land acquisition would encompass houses, tube wells, trees, and whether the affected residents depended on the land for their livelihood. The final acquisition decisions will consider all these factors.

The land of 365 villages is expected to be acquired for the project. The compensation offered to affected residents will be approximately five times the collector's rate of the land. If half the residents in a village object to land acquisition, the project may be relocated to another village. The corridor will have fencing on both sides to prevent accidents due to the train's maximum speed of 350 km per hour.

The 459 kilometrs proposed high-speed rail corridor will commence from Dwarka in Delhi and make stops at Sonepat, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Mohali, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, and Amritsar. A separate survey is being conducted in Mohali to establish a railway station, considering the dedicated corridor's high-speed requirements.

While soil testing for the project is pending, feasibility and geographical surveys have already been completed. The railways have also sought details of the land to be acquired.

This ambitious high-speed railway corridor promises to revolutionize connectivity between Delhi and Amritsar, significantly reducing travel time and enhancing transportation efficiency in the region.