Modi unveils railway projects in poll-bound Karnataka

Prime Minister Narenda Modi on Monday unveiled a slew of railway projects in poll-bound Karnataka and flagged off a weekly Humsafar Express train (Palace Queen) to Rajasthan's Udaipur.

"Modi dedicated to the nation the 140 km electrified double track between Mysuru and Bengaluru and flagged off the weekly express between Mysuru and Udaipur," said Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.

The electrification of the route between the state capital and the cultural capital will benefit the people in terms of faster travel, less pollution and energy saving.

"Sectional capacity will increase 15 per cent with better average speeds. Line haul cost will reduce to Rs 198 per 1,000 ton km from Rs 365 resulting in Rs 20 crore saving in fuel cost," Goyal said.

The electrification of the route will also enable the railways to operate faster passenger and freight trains between Mysuru to Chennai via Bengaluru, reducing travel time.

The Palace Queen train between two major tourist destinations in Karnataka and Rajasthan will also connect important heritage palaces in and around Mysuru, Bengaluru, Hubballi, Belagavi, Pune, Vasai Road, Surat, Vadodara, Ratlam, Chittaurgarh and Udaipur.

"The Humsafar Express passes through five states - Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, connecting western and southern India with 12 stoppages enroute," said Goyal.

The fully air-conditioned train with 16 AC 3-tier coaches, two luggage-cum-brake vans and a pantry car will leave from Mysuru, from March 1, on every Thursday at 10 a.m. and reach Udaipur on the third day (Saturday) at 04.55 a.m., covering 2,265km in 42 hours.

The weekly train will commence on February 26 from Udaipur and run on every Monday, departing at 9 p.m. and reaching Mysuru on Wednesday at 4.25 p.m.

--IANS

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