Final report on Mysuru-Madikeri rail line soon

The Preliminary Engineering-cum-Traffic (PET) survey of the Mysuru-Kushalnagar-Madikeri railway line will be completed during the current financial year following which the report will be submitted to the Railway Board for its clearance.

At present the authorities are engaged in updating the PET survey report of Mysuru-Kushalnagar section while the physical survey between Kushalnagar and Madikeri is in progress. This was stated at the 24th Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee (DRUCC) meeting held here on Tuesday.

In reply to a question on the status of the project, the railway authorities said the PET for the new broad gauge line between Mysuru and Kushalnagar (84.5 km) with an abstract cost of Rs. 666 crore was submitted to the Railway Board in 2012 but since the rate of return (ROR) was -8 per cent the project was not pursued.

However, consequent to the State Government agreeing to provide land free of cost and bearing 50 per cent of the project cost, the Board cleared the project and the revised ROR– taking into consideration only the Railway share – was pegged at 3.12 per cent which was below the stipulated 5 per cent before any project is deemed commercially viable and accorded final approval.

But in view of the support extended to the project by the State Government, the PET survey was being updated and the entire and final PET Survey report would be submitted to the Railway Board in the current financial year, according to senior railway officials in the meeting. Earlier, only a partial PET survey was conducted and the 30 km stretch between Kushalanagar and Madikeri was not surveyed. The proposed railway project first mooted in 1881-82, will also connect Hunsur and Periyapatana. The cost estimate for the stretch between Kushalanagar-Madikeri was yet to be prepared as the survey is in progress.

The stakeholders were also apprised of the progress of the Hassan-Bengaluru new broad gauge stretch which is under execution on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis. Of the 167 km stretch, a length of 139 km has been completed including a 109 km stretch between Hassan and Kunigal and the entire project is slated for completion by March 2015 subjected to the acquisition of 13 acres of land by the State Government and handing it to the railways.

There were issues related to passenger amenities, additional stoppages for trains, security etc. discussed in the meeting. Divisional Railway Manager Rajkumar Lal, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Anil Kumar, representatives from commerce and industry and stakeholders from across the Mysuru Division were present.