Government sources said the state government has offered all help, including acquiring land for the project. If completed, the track would facilitate the train journey Amritsar through Malwa region to Jaipur and Jodhpur in Rajasthan, bypassing Delhi.

The link would be from Ghariala near Khemkaran in Tarn Taran district to Malowal in Ferozepur, said Amritsar Deputy Commissioner K.S. Pannu, adding that all the formalities had been completed and reports of the surveys had been submitted to the Ministry of Railways.

During his last visit here, Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had also hinted of early completion of surveys and to start work on the stretch.

The rice millers in Amritsar are the happiest, as they would be able to dispatch their consignments directly to Kandla Port in Mumbai for shipment to the Middle East countries, where basmati rice from this region is in great demand. “We want the project to be completed at the earliest. We had taken a delegation to Lalu Prasad Yadav earlier and he promised that work would start early,” said Punjab Beopar Mandal chief Amrit Lal Jain.

Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) spokesperson Gunbir Singh said apart from trade, even the tourism industry would get a major fillip as a direct link would be available to the south-western Indian states to reach Amritsar. “Tourism is an upcoming industry and Amritsar is emerging as a hub.