Bhagat Singh’s ancestral village gets first rail connectivity till Amritsar! The Jaijon-Doaba-Jalandhar DEMU service of Indian Railways has been extended, connecting Nawanshahr to Amritsar from today. With the commencement of this extended route, visitors from Majha region to Bhagat Singh’s ancestral village-Khatkar Kalan will benefit and vice-versa. Also, people from Jaijon Doaba region can now look forward to visiting the Golden Temple in train. Additionally, traders especially cloth merchants, would be hugely benefitted. According to an IE report, the extended train service, which originates from Jaijon village of Hoshiarpur District that falls under Garhshankar sub division, will now cover a distance of more than 200 km to Amritsar via districts of Nawanshahr and Jalandhar.
According to the report, from Jaijon to Amritsar, the train fare would be around Rs 60 per person, while from Nawanshahr to Amritsar, the train fare would be Rs 50 per person. Earlier, people had to spend nearly Rs 200 per passenger from Jaijon to Amritsar while travelling in a bus. Also, the train, which came via Nawanshahr, earlier used to get terminated at Jalandhar railway station.
The report further said that for over a decade, people residing in the area were demanding an extension of the route to the city of Amritsar. Now, with the extension of the route, the train will cover 22 railway stations in five districts namely, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr and Hoshiarpur. The train, which will run on a daily basis will depart from Jaijon railway station at 5:00 AM and will reach Amritsar station at 11:00 AM. On its return, the train will start the journey from Amritsar railway station at 12:15 PM.
According to Nawanshahr Railway Station Master Ram Lal Kataria who was quoted in the news report, the extended route of DEMU train, would be the first ever link of Indian Railways to provide train connectivity from Nawanshahr to Amritsar. Also, there will be a stoppage at Khatkar Kalan Jhandaji, the station master added.