Karnataka - Bangalore

Mysore-Chamarajanagar, Bagalkot-Gadag trains soon

BANGALORE: Trains will start chugging again on Mysore-Chamarajanagar and Bagalkot-Gadag routes in a few months as the South Western Railway will complete the gauge conversion work on the two sections by March and April.

South Western Railway general manager Praveen Kumar told The Hindu that the work on converting the tracks from metregauge to broadgauge between Mysore-Nanjanagud on Chamarajanagar section and Solapur-Bagalkot on Gadag section was already completed. Train services would resume in March and April respectively, he added.

The gauge conversion work between Mysore and Chamarajanagar (61 km) was sanctioned in 2001 with the cost estimated at Rs. 85.36 crore. While the Comptroller and Auditor General had termed the project economically unviable, he had criticised the Railways for the enormous delay in completion of the work.

The metregauge track was laid in 1891 between Mysore and Nanjangud and later was extended to Chamarajanagar. Railways used to operate eight pairs of trains on this section primarily catering to the passenger traffic.

The metregauge line between Bagalkot and Gadag, part of the 300-km Solapur-Gadag section, was closed for train traffic on September 24, 2007 to undertake gauge conversion work.

The project, which is two decades old, is being taken up under equal cost sharing basis between the Railways and the State Government. Once operational, the line would emerge as a vital link between southern and northern States.

Mr. Praveen Kumar said the South Western Railway would focus on doubling of tracks during the next fiscal. Three important bottlenecks, where heavy traffic was witnessed, would be taken up for doubling. The zone had the capacity to lay 300 to 350 km of broadgauge line every year.

The bottlenecks were Arsikere-Birur (50 km), Hubli-Hebasur and Dharwad-Kambarganvi. Being major junctions, Arsikere and Birur sections had trains from Mysore and Bangalore routes. These sections were witnessing heavy movement of goods trains thanks to transportation of iron ore.

After the Bagalkot-Gadag metre gauge line was closed, the South Western Railway has joined the unique club of railway zones that had only broadguage lines.

Only very railway zones have metregauge and narrowgauge tracks. Even after coming to have unigauge on its entire route network, the share of South Western Railway in the national track network is abysmally low.

While the total track network of the Indian Railways was nearly 1.08 lakh km, South Western Railway has just 3,286 km. Of the 62,000 km broadgauge route network of the Indian Railways, South Western Railway has only 3,112 km.

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