Railway Ministry officials have said Punjab was among the few states with as many as 30 stations identified for upgrade under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

The plan was launched by the Centre in 2022 to redevelop 1,300 railway stations across India as modern, integrated hubs.

The 30 train stations which are under various stages of redevelopment in the state include Abohar, Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib, Beas, Bathinda Junction, Dhandari Kalan, Dhuri, Fazilka, Ferozpur Cantt, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Kotkapura, Ludhiana, Malerkotla, Mansa, Moha, Muktsar, Nangal Dam, Pathankot Cantt, Pathankot City, Phagwara, Phillaur, Rupnagar, Sangrur, SAS Nagar and Sirhind.

Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Bittu who will be in Ferozepur on Friday, when PM virtually launches the new Vande Bharat, said the BJP-led Centre had enhanced the rail budget for Punjab.

“Average annual rail budget for Punjab has risen 24 times — from Rs 225 crore in 2009 to Rs 5,421 cr in 2025-26. As many as 382 km of new tracks have been laid and 409 flyovers and under bridges have been built,” said Bittu.

Sources also pointed to seven other major rail projects under execution in Punjab.

These include Nangal Dam-Talwara new line; Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri new line; Ferozepur-Patti new line; Mansa-Bathinda doubling; Ludhiana-Kila Raipur doubling; Ludhiana-Mullanpur doubling and Alal-Himmatana doubling.

As for Vande Bharat, the PM will launch four trains on Friday. These are — Varanasi-Khajuraho Vande Bharat train connecting PM’s Lok Sabha constituency with the historical city of Khajuraho known for its Digambara Jain temples. The other two new routes up for inauguration apart from Ferozpur-Delhi and Varanasi Khajuraho are Lucknown Junction-Saharanpur and KSR Bengaluru-Ernakulam.

For Punjab, the new age semi-high speed Vande Bharat was being billed as a game changer.

Linking Ferozepur, Faridkot, Bathinda, Dhuri, Patiala, Ambala Cantt, Kurukshetra, Panipat and Delhi, it will boost rail transport for the people of Malwa region.

The train will run on all days barring Wednesday. It will cover 486 km in six hours and 35 minutes.