Khatkar Kalan (Punjab), March 23 (IANS): Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday announced new rail links to Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of martyr Bhagat Singh in Punjab.

Prabhu, who was here to mark the state-level function for martyrs Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, said the village railway station would be upgraded with new facilities and new train links to other places would be initiated.

The railway minister and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal announced that the Indian Railways and the Punjab government, in a first-of-its-kind project, have decided to form a joint company to fast-track planned rail projects in the state and take up new projects, including creation of ultra modern railway stations and laying new tracks.

Prabhu said the new venture would transform the Indian Railways and make it a modern entity.

Sukhbir Badal said the new Amritsar railway station would have a shopping mall, besides modern office spaces.

He said a decision on this has already been taken and this would be the first station to be taken up for modernisation under this scheme in the country.