Foundation stone laid for Rs 2,000-cr Kadapa-Bangalore rail line

The foundation stone for one of South Central Railway(SCR)’s largest projects, the Kadapa-Bangalore new railway line, was laid at the Kadapa railway station on Wednesday.

The project will involve an investment of about Rs 2,000 crore, which the Andhra Pradesh anda Karnataka governments have agreed to bear on a 50:50 basis.

“The new line will reduce the distance considerably between Kadapa and Bangalore. It has the potential to boost economy and generate employment in the region. The project will be completed in about five years," Union minister of state for railways KH Muniyappa said, adding that the entire doubling of the railway line between Renigunta-Guntakal will be completed by 2011.

The Kadapa-Bangalore railway line, once completed, will shorten the distance by 226km as compared to the route via Renigunta, and will also provide a shorter alternative route between north India and Bangalore.

In a press release, SCR general manager MS Jayanth said budget allocations for SCR during the current financial year almost doubled to Rs 873 crore. "SCR will be completing about 174-kilometre new railway lines during the current fiscal, which is 20 per cent of the Indian Railways target," he added.