South-Western Railway (SWR) received a total grant of ₹2,709 crore for 2020-2021 in the Union Budget even as people in Kalyana Karnataka are livid over the meagre allocation of ₹1,000 for setting up the administrative office of the proposed Kalaburagi Division under Central Railway.
Considering the State government’s expected contribution of ₹786 crore under deposit schemes of new lines and road over/under bridges, the overall allocation comes to ₹3,495 crore for SWR, said Chief Public Relations Officer E. Vijaya. The ₹ 2,709 crore from the Union government includes capital and extra-budgetary resource funds, the highest ever after SWR’s formation, she added.
Smoother train movement could be expected on the Bengaluru-Chennai section following provision for automatic signalling with centralised traffic control on the Bengaluru-Jolarpettai section while similar a provision has been made for the Yeshwantpur-Yelahanka section too. As much as ₹8 crore has been allocated for the Baiyappanahalli new terminal. In all, nine RoBs and 15 RuBs were sanctioned.
The Hassan yard will be remodelled to facilitate taking trains from Bengaluru and Mangaluru directly without engine reversal. Amenities at various stations will be improved at a cost of ₹126 crore.
Important lines of SWR will be covered under automatic signalling [30% of network] thereby ensuring seamless operations. Instead of a coach factory, a composite repair shop will be set up at Kolar at a cost of ₹495 crore.
A new line between Dharwad and Belagavi via Kittur that cuts shorts the present distance has been sanctioned at the instance of Minister of State for Railways Suresh C. Angadi.
Kalaburagi division
Activists from Kalyana Karnataka blamed the political executives for the non-realisation of the new Railway Division that was sanctioned about six years ago. The Daund-Kalaburagi and the Pune-Guntakal electrification works got ₹128 crore, the Gooty-Dharmavaram doubling got ₹135 crore, and the Munirabad-Mahbubnagar new line got ₹100 crore in the region.
Mangaluru region
Mangaluru Railway region under Southern Railway got ₹17.2 crore for three ongoing works: an additional platform and second entry at Mangaluru Central (₹3 crore and ₹3.5 crore) and doubling of Netravathi Bridge-Mangaluru Central (₹10.7 crore).
