Commissioning of the double railway track between Mysuru and Bengaluru is likely to miss the March-2015 deadline.
Though 92 km of the 139-km-long double track has been laid, work on laying the second track has been held up near Byadarahalli in Mandya district due to land acquisition issues and near Srirangapatna due to the ongoing work on translocating the armoury belonging to Tipu Sultan, and construction of bridges across the Cauvery.
Sources said efforts to overcome the obstacles were continuing. “The issue is not resolved yet. We are hopeful of taking possession of the piece of land required for laying about 500-metre track at Byadarahalli by March this year,” sources said.
Meanwhile, the foreign firm entrusted with the contract of translocating the armoury to an alternative location about 100 m away, has begun the work. Officials overlooking the construction of two bridges across the Cauvery in Srirangapatna said the work is expected to be over by December 2015.
However, Divisional Railway Manager, Bangalore, Anil Kumar Agarwal said the Railways will try to commission the double track soon after the work on laying of the second track at Byadarahalli is completed.
The one-and-a-half kilometre stretch running alongside the armoury and two bridges in Srirangapatna will remain a single track for the time being.
Railway officials are hoping to commission the double track by September 2015 if everything falls in place. “Apart from railway track, work has to be completed even in the railway stations before the Commissioner for Railway Safety carries out an inspection,” an official said.
