New Meerut-Panipat railway line soon
MEERUT : The long pending demand of people for a railway line between western UP and Haryana will be fulfilled soon.
The detailed project report ( DPR) for Meerut- Panipat railway line has been prepared and is expected to be approved soon with a few amendments in alignment route.
Union minister of state for animal husbandry and fisheries Dr Sanjeev Baliyan, who is also MP from Muzaffarnagar, has been pursuing the project for the past six years. He recently met the railway minister along with a delegation of local residents regarding the project.
Speaking to HT on phone, the minister said that the detailed project report had been prepared with a budget allocation of Rs 3500 crores. Baliyan said that experts who prepared the report were apprehensive about its high cost “It has been decided to reduce the cost by making a few changes in the alignment and hopefully it would come to about Rs 2200 crore,” said Baliyan.
He said that the project was announced in 2016 to connect Daurala ( Meerut) with Panipat in Haryana and he suggested a route through Sardhana, Budhana, Jaula, Elam of Meerut and
Muzaffarnagar districts, Baghpat MP Dr Satyapal Singh, however, suggested a route through Agarwal Mandi in Baghpat.
The matter was then referred to the state government to decide about the route and eventually the route suggested by Dr Baliyan was finalized in 2019.
The railway ministry then directed the experts to prepare a DPR of the project.
People had long been demanding a railway line connecting Meerut and Panipat. Presently, the people of western UP travel to Panipat via Delhi.
Dr Baliyan said that the new railway line between Panipat and Meerut would reduce travel time between the two states and also help in boosting trade.