Naganahalli railway terminal included under ‘critical project’

Targeted completion by 2024 depends on land acquisition

The proposed greenfield railway terminal at Naganahalli on the outskirts of Mysuru has been listed among the ‘critical’ projects by the Railway Board and is slated for completion by 2024.

The Naganahalli terminal has been included in the list of Priority Traffic Facilities Works and the budgetary allocation for the financial year 2021-22 has been pegged at ₹19.99 crore.

The terminal has been approved in a bid to decongest the existing railway station at Mysuru based on the projected growth of rail traffic to the city. The existing station is landlocked with no scope for expansion and hence the authorities settled for Naganahalli which is 8.55 km away on the Mysuru-Bengaluru section.

The cost of the project has been pegged at ₹789 crore though an engineering and traffic survey conducted by a private agency from Hyderabad estimated the final cost to be around ₹1,008 crore.

The scope of the work entails constructing 4 platforms in the first phase and 2 additional platforms in the second phase, laying 4 pit lines and 8 stabling lines while the land requirement is around 380 acres of which 165 acres is required for completing the first phase. The length of the platforms will be 750 metres while the stabling lines will be 725 metres and pit lines will be 620 metres long. The plan is to retain the existing yard at Naganahalli while the terminal building work will be constructed behind it. The completion of the first phase entails an expenditure of ₹494.79 crore.

The existing station at Mysuru handles nearly 50 pairs of trains including the non-daily services. Consequent to the completion of the track doubling work and electrification of the Mysuru-Bengaluru section, more train services are expected to the city in future. But the existing station has capacity constraints to accommodate more trains and hence the new terminal was justified.

But like most projects, this is again subject to land acquisition by the State government and transferring it to the railway authorities.

Incidentally, the railway authorities’ letter to the Additional Chief Secretary, Infrastructure Development Department, Government of Karnataka, exactly two years ago, has not elicited any response. The letter highlighted the imperatives of the completion of the project to pave way for introduction of additional train services connecting Mysuru with rest of the country. The State government was requested to convey its willingness for sharing the cost of the project and providing land free of cost. But sources said no official communique has been received so far.