Neglected for Six Decades
At the time when the country is preparing for bullet and high speed trains so that travel duration is reduced substantially, there is 111 km track from Meerut to Tapri junction in Saharanpur district, which connects five cantonments and one world famous pilgrimage place, Haridwar, is still single track forcing the commuters to spend four-five hours on the journey of 111 km.
The five cantonments connected to the national capital by this track are Meerut, Dehradun, Ambala, Amritsar and Jammu. Interestingly, there is no objection or hurdle from security agencies, only neglect on the part of the policymakers is responsible for it.
The matter has been raised during all elections but never reaches to any conclusion. Since the national highway connecting Delhi and Saharanpur through Baghpat, Baraut, Shamli has been in very poor state for the last one decade the pressure on the rail is burgeoning. Being it a single track, the commuters have to spend about four hours to cover this distance of just 111 km from Meerut to Tapari junction.
Though there is another line connecting Delhi and Saharanpur via Baghpat-Baraut-Shamli, but that too is single. “If doubled, both the tracks via Meerut or Shamli will not only reduce travel duration but also will help in generating more revenue. There is no technical hurdle in it but nobody knows why it is being ignored for so many decades,” said a senior Railway official posted in Meerut.
Not only to save the travel time, but
strategically also, doubling of this track is important. This track was single from Delhi to Tapri for decades. However, it was doubled from Ghaziabad to Meerut about five years back. Now 111 km track from Meerut to Tapari is waiting for doubling.
However, the provisions in the union budget were made sometime back and work began on the track between Muzaffarnagar and Meerut, its speed is so slow that it will take more five years to finish.
The matter was raised in the Parliament on December 5, 2014 by Saharanpur MP Raghav Lakhanpal and the Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha had assured him to take up the matter seriously.
The passengers have to waste about half of the total journey duration in waiting or crossing of the trains. They have high expectations from the Modi
Government as all Lok Sabha seats from Saharanpur to Delhi have been won by the BJP. —Surender Singhal
