The 39.68-km Qadian–Beas broad-gauge railway line has received a detailed estimate sanction of ₹1,419.05 crore from the Railway Board, marking a decisive step forward for a project first conceived in 1928. Former Minister of State for Railways and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravneet Singh Bittu on Sunday, 17 August described the development as a major milestone for Punjab and a historic breakthrough for the Majha region.

A Project Nearly a Century in the Making

The Qadian–Beas railway corridor was originally approved during 1928–29, with construction making substantial progress before being discontinued in the early 1930s. Decades later, it was revived under the Socially Desirable Rail Connectivity Programme and included in the Supplementary Railway Budget of 2010–11 as a new line project, with an estimated cost of approximately ₹205 crore at the time. Despite that sanction, the project remained stalled for years owing to technical, alignment, land acquisition, and procedural hurdles.

In June 2026, the Union government formally announced the revival of the rail line. The Railway Board has now placed the detailed estimate at ₹1,419.05 crore — a figure that reflects nearly a century of inflation, revised alignment, and upgraded infrastructure standards.

What the New Railway Line Will Cover

The proposed corridor will link Qadian in Gurdaspur district with Beas in Amritsar district, passing through Dhapai, Ghuman, Butala, and Sathiala. The alignment will bring several previously underserved areas of the Majha region onto the national railway network for the first time in modern rail history.

Infrastructure along the corridor includes crossing stations at Ghuman and Butala, 11 major bridges, 121 minor bridges, 54 road under-bridges, and modern signalling and telecommunication systems. The line will also feature Kavach — the Indian Railways' automatic train protection technology — underscoring the government's push for safety-first infrastructure.

What Bittu Said

'I personally pursued this long-pending project and ensured that the Qadian–Beas line, which had remained stuck for years, was defrozen and brought back into active consideration,' Bittu told the media in Chandigarh. He said he repeatedly took up the matter with the Railway Ministry and railway officials during his tenure to push for defreezing. Bittu also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for advancing the long-pending project.

Impact on the Majha Region

According to Bittu, Gurdaspur and Batala will gain substantially from improved railway access through the Qadian corridor, while Beas will serve as a key connectivity node to the wider rail network. 'This will make movement of people, agricultural produce, traders, students and pilgrims easier and more efficient and will strengthen economic linkages between towns and villages of the Majha region,' he said.

Notably, the Majha belt — spanning parts of Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts — has historically relied on road transport for inter-district movement, making the new rail link a structural upgrade for local commerce and mobility. With the sanction now formalised, the project moves into implementation planning, though land acquisition and civil works timelines are yet to be officially announced.