Mysuru: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will inaugurate Bengaluru–Hassan new railway line, subway and lift facilities at Mysuru Railway Station by flagging off Yeshwanthpur-Hassan intercity express from Yeshwanthpur Railway station on March 26 at 11 am, confirmed Sanjiv Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru Division, South Western Railway.
The 172 Km Bengaluru-Hassan new railway line construction was completed in January. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, former prime minister H D Devegowda and other ministers are expected to take part in the inaugural function.
Few weeks ago, the Bengaluru-Hassan broad gauge line got clearance from the Commissioner of Railway Safety. The project for 172 km stretch between Bengaluru and Hassan, which passes through Jain pilgrimage site Shravanabelagola was sanctioned when H D Devegowda was Prime Minister in 1996. The authorisation to run passenger trains at a maximum speed of 80 kmph was given by A K Manoharan, Commissioner of Railway Safety, Southern Circle, after inspecting the line and conducting speed trials.
When the project was sanctioned, the estimated cost was Rs 295 Crore but later due to delay for various reasons including land allotment and sanction of money, it shot up to Rs 1,289.92 Crore, which is four times the initial project cost. Once the line becomes operational, the distance from Bengaluru to Hassan will be reduced by 50 km via Arsikere and about 87 km via Mysuru. The distance between Bengaluru and Hassan is 259 km via Mysuru, it is 213 km via Arsikere. The new line will connect Bengaluru (Chikkabanavar starting station) with Hassan via Nelamangala, Kunigal, Yediyur and Shravanabelagola and total length of the track would be 172 km. The project will also reduce the travel timings between Bengaluru and Mangaluru. It will also be helpful for the devotees who visit Shravanbelagola.
Subway and lifts at Mysuru Railway Station to be inaugurated through webcast:
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will also inaugurate the much needed subway and lift facilities for the passengers. To make subway more attractive and to promote flavour of local culture and tourist places in Mysuru, Atul Gupta, DRM, Mysuru division, SWR with the help of CAVA artists had painted prominent culture and tourist spots of Mysuru at the entrance and inside the subway. The subway will bring relief to commuters who carry heavy luggage across the foot overbridge which is at a height of over 6.5 metres. Due to increase in the number of passengers everyday, the passing on the present narrow foot overbridge has been difficult. The work on the 64.42 metre subway connecting the entire six platforms began more than a year ago at a cost of Rs 7 Crore. The subway is six metres wide and 3.35 metres in height. The uniqueness of this subway is that it is not having steps! Users can move from platform to another without climbing the steps.
