Title - Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link inspection completed, speed trial to follow

Officials of the Commissioner of Railways Safety (CRS) completed inspection of the Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link on Monday.
The inspection will be followed by a trial that will be conducted during night. Northern railway division railway manager PK Sanghi said the inspection was completed, and a speed trail would follow it.The rail link has been constructed in three phases, of which two phases are already functional. The first phase, Chandigarh-Morinda line, was completed in September 2006, while in second phase, Sahnewal-Ludhiana line, was opened in November 2012. In February 2013, the remaining portion was completed.The project was approved in 1997, and even after lapses of several deadlines, the complete rail link is yet to be operational even after 16 years. The delay has increased the project cost manifold - Rs. 250 crore in 2000 to more than Rs. 1,000 crore at present.PK Sanghi said the link would become operational following the CRS reports.In the Railway Budget, railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had announced that the Chandigarh-Ludhiana link would become operational by March 31.