Gowda gives only four express trains to K'taka

Kodagu district's hope for railway line takes another step

Railway Minister D V Sadananda Gowda today announced a slew of new trains and new rail lines for Karnataka. Kodagu, the land of coffee, could become part of the railway network of the country.

The minister has responded to the demands of the people of Kodagu for a railway line. The demand has been been there right from the latter part of the 19th century. In his budget for 2014-15, the minister has announced a survey for the Mysore-Kushalnagar portion of a Mysore-Kushalnagar-Madikeri new line.

The survey has been completed and the state government has agreed to share the cost of the project. This will provide rail connectivity to important tourist destinations in Kodagu (Coorg).

“I propose to pursue this project for obtaining the requisite approvals after completion of the remaining survey up to Madikeri,” Gowda said.

In an effort to give a boost to the suburban traffic in Bangalore, the minister has announced a suburban railway network. “Bangalore, with its bustling business activity, attracts large commuters from surrounding rural areas and towns necessitating better connectivity of Bangalore city with its suburban areas and hinterland. A study to explore possibility of enhancing the existing IR (Indian railway) network of Bangalore for meeting the above need will be taken up,” he said.

In addition to catering to the demands of the passenger traffic in the Bangalore area, Byyappanahalli will be developed as a coaching terminal, he said.

Besides these measures, the minister has announced high-speed trains on the present network with 160-200 kmph on the Mysore-Bangalore-Chennai sector.

He has also announced four new lines on Gabbur-Bellary, Shimoga-Mangalore via Sringeri, Talguppa-Siddapur and Gadag-Harapanahalli (updating) sectors.

The track-doubling has been announced for Mangalore-Ullal-Surathkal.

The state of Karnataka has also got one premium train between Kamakhya and Bangalore. However, Gowda has not announced any A/C express trains for Karnataka.

He has also announced express trains between Bangalore-Mangalore (daily), Bangalore-Shimoga (bi-weekly) and Bidar-Mumbai (weekly).

New passenger trains will be run between Dharwad-Dandeli (daily), Byndoor-Kasargod (daily) and Yesvantpur-Tumkur (daily).

The minister has also announced on MEMU services on Bangalore-Ramanagaram (six days) and two DEMU services, Bangalore-Nelamangala (daily) and Yesvantpur-Hosur (six days a week).

Gowda also included two tourist trains for the state, including the Gadag-Pandarapur via Bagalkot, Bijapur and Rameshwaram-Ayodhya via Bangalore.