Mysuru-Bengaluru semi-high speed train remains a distant dream

Reasons cited are congestion due to growth in railway traffic, sharp track curvatures

Long delay:Lack of adequate infrastructure at destination stations is one of the reasons for not introducing semi-high speed trains.— FILE PHOTO

With the country’s first semi-high speed train — Gatimaan Express — covering the distance beween New Delhi and Agra (199 km) in 200 minutes on Tuesday, questions are being raised if the commuting time between Mysuru and Bengaluru (139 km) could similarly be reduced.

Officials in the Mysuru Division are sceptical because of lack of infrastructure at the destination stations to receive more trains though track doubling has augmented the track capacity to carry more trains and eased traffic congestion by eliminating crossing halts.

Though most trains from Mysuru to Bengaluru reach Kengeri in 1hour and 40 minutes, passengers are exasperated as the trains halt for nearly 40 minutes to 45 minutes at that station before it reaches Bengaluru.

Similarly in the return direction, the train reaches Mandya in 85 minutes and takes more than an hour to reach Mysuru (45 km), neutralising the benefits of fast travel. For instance, the running time of the Tipu Express between Bengaluru and Mandya (94 km) is 84 minutes despite all the curves along the stretch. But the running time between Mandya and Mysuru (45 km) is 65 minutes. Similarly, the Rajya Rani Express departs from Bengaluru at 10.30 a.m. and reaches Mandya at 11.58 a.m. But its scheduled arrival at Mysuru is 1.30 p.m. Likewise, the Golgumbaz Express departs from Bengaluru at 8.10 a.m. to reach Mandya at 9.49 a.m. But its scheduled time of arrival at Mysuru is 11.05 a.m.

So, despite the completion of the track doubling work and the ongoing electrification, there will not be much reduction in the actual journey time between the two cities as the end stations are congested due to the general growth in railway traffic. One of the solutions given by railway officials was to decongest Bengaluru and Mysuru stations by developing new departure terminals. While Byappanahalli near Bengaluru was slated to be a new terminal, Kadakola near Mysuru was proposed as a terminal to decongest the city station here. Though there were talks of introducing similar semi-high speed trains on the section earlier, they were found not feasible due to sharp track curvatures.

Maximum permissible speed between different sections

Mysuru-Yeliyuru – 100 kmph

Yeliyuru-Mandya – 90 kmph

Mandya-Maddur – 100 kmph

Maddur-Settihalli – 90 kmph

Settihalli-Kengeri – 100 kmph

Kengeri-Bengaluru – 65 kmph