Karnataka, which is headed for the Assembly elections later this year, has received a budget outlay of ₹7,561 crore for railway projects. The projects that were sanctioned include new rail lines being executed by South Western Railway (SWR) for which ₹2,423 crore has been allocated and ₹1,529 crore has been provided for track-doubling projects.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said Karnataka had received a “record allocation”. He said the allocation made was nine times higher than that made during 2009-14 (annual outlay of ₹835 crore). As many as 51 stations in the State would be developed under Amrit Bharat schemes. About future ventures of the Railways, the Minister said Vande Bharath trains would be tested to provide local commute between two cities and a significant technological jump would be achieved by developing and testing Hydrogen-powered trains. In the next financial year, 300 trains would be replaced with new sets of trains.
Will Vande Bharat train run between Hubballi and Bengaluru before elections?
The SWR is gearing up to introduce the first intra-State Vande Bharat train service between Hubballi and Bengaluru. About the status of the project, Sanjeev Kishore, general manager, SWR, said that in doubling and electrification projects, out of 469 km, doubling is pending only for a distance of 25 km (from Saunshi and South Hubballi) and this would be completed by February. The electrification of the entire line was likely to be completed by March. “It is a challenging task, many agencies are involved in the projects. There is absolutely no dearth of funds and support has been received from all the stakeholders,” the official said.
To a question on measures taken to operate Vande Bharat Express train operated between Chennai and Mysuru via Bengaluru at a higher speed (the train presently runs at a speed comparable to that of Shatabdi Express), Mr. Kishore said they had an action plan to run the train at 125 kmph. By June we should be able to upgrade it substantially. With that the travel time is likely to be reduced by 10 to 20 minutes,” he said.
Two island platforms at Cantonment station
Under Gati Shakti Unit, the Bengaluru Division will complete works related to two island platforms at Bengaluru Cantonment Station. This will give a fillip to run suburban trains in the city limits. The official said that Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal helped in de-congesting KSR Bengaluru and operationalising two island platforms at Cantonment station would only help further. The quadrupling work between Cantonment and Whitefield, which was being implemented in two phases, would be completed by next year. On developing better road connectivity to Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal, Divisional Railway Manager Shyam Singh said the SWR had given an in-principle approval to the rotary flyover proposed by the BBMP.
Local cuisine to be served
To a question on complaints about not getting South Indian food, the Railway Minister said a policy decision had been taken to serve local cuisine on trains. “In the next 12 to 18 months, you will see a huge change in the catering system in the Railways,” he said.
