Mysuru: “We are not here to make false promises, instead we are focusing on clearing the long pending railway projects, including some of projects announced in 1960,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi after inaugurating the Mysuru-Bengaluru electric train by flagging off the weekly Humsafar Express (Palace Queen) between Mysuru and Udaipur at Mysuru Railway Station on platform No 1, here on Monday.
“The previous government under its Railway budget came out with various assurances and promises to people by announcing various projects in the budget. Nearly 1500 projects to the tune of Rs 9 lakh crore are still pending. This was also the reason for clubbing railway budget with the general union budget,” added Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Speaking on the occasion Modi said, “Both Mysuru and Jaipur happen to be a hub for tourists. Hence, tourism in both these states will get a boost with the introduction of this train that connects Mysuru and Udaipur. People, including those in the hotel industry as well as auto and taxi drivers stand to benefit once tourism is promoted.”
On the occasion he also announced the much-needed satellite station at Naganahalli at the cost of Rs 800 crore for Mysuru railway station and launch of Rs 6,400 crore six-lane Mysuru-Bengaluru expressway
It can be brought to light that on December second week, the commissioner of railway safety (Southern Circle) K A Manoharan after conducting inspection of electrification of track between Mysuru and Bengaluru had given green signal for operation of electric train.
With the launching of electric train the travel time between Mysuru and Bengaluru will come down by just15 minutes but it will save expenditure for railways and will be more eco friendly. Every day 24 trains originate from Mysuru; the railways will be saving nearly Rs 10 lakh per day, Rs 3 crore per month while per year they will be saving Rs 36 crore.
Electric train to reduce travel time, emission levels
The electric trains will drastically reduce the cost of operations apart from the travel time and CO2 emissions as compared to the diesel locomotive. While a trip between Mysuru-Bengaluru, requires minimum 700litres diesel i.e 4-5 litres of diesel per km, and costs upto Rs 41,000 in a diesel locomotive, the electric locomotive once operational requires approximately 2600 units costing nearly Rs 17,000 (Rs 6 per unit).
The CO2emission in the area will reduce by 5 million per annum thus facilitating an energy efficient and eco friendly mode of transport ensuring a cleaner and greener environment. Similarly, the speed being comparatively greater the travel time too will come down in an electric train. Also it take lesser time for pickup, and can be stopped in quick time.
More about electric train
Though the project work, including track doubling had been sanctioned in 2007-08 rail budget, it gained momentum in 2011. The initial cost of electrification was Rs 69.5 crore for 139-km stretch between Bengaluru and Mysuru at the rate of Rs 50 lakh per km but the overall cost to complete the project was Rs 220 crore. The project was taken on cost sharing basis i.e 50 percent from central and 50 percent from state government. The project was handled by the Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE). Mysuru-Bengaluru double line project along with electrification was taken up in three phases-Bengaluru-Kengeri (12.22 km), Kengeri-Ramanagaram (32.17 km) and Ramanagaram-Mysuru (93.86 km).
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. It passes through five states – Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, connecting western and southern India with 12 stoppages enroute
The fully air-conditioned train with 16 AC 3-tier coaches is provided with GPS-based LED display system for giving information on stations, train speed besides adequate mobile, laptop charging points and Divyang friendly Integrated Braille displays. Each coach has a small pantry unit equipped with Tea / Coffee vending machine, Hot box and Refrigerator, Urinal in 2 toilets per coach and Baby Nappy Changing Pad in 2 toilets per coach. Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance of the common areas of the coaches have also been set up. The weekly Humsafar Express train will depart from Mysuru at 10am, every Thursday arriving at Udaipur City at 4.55 am on the 3rd day covering a distance of 2250 Kms. It will be passing through 11 districts in the state of Karnataka.
Prakash Mandoth, former Zonal Railway Users’ Consultative Committee, Southern Railway and South Western Railway efforts yield result:
“Ten years back I had requested railway authorities to introduce Humsafar Express train from Mysuru. Now with the flagging of this train my ten year effort has become a reality. The train will not only help business people but also students, tourists and also army personnel’s,” added Prakash who travelled from Mysuru to Bengaluru.
4-mth baby youngest to travel on the newly-flagged off train
Kavitha the mother of a four month old baby Ishani who was the youngest on board was delighted with the launch of new train. Says she, “Three days back I booked my tickets. After having my delivery at my parent’s houses in Mysuru, I am going back to my husband house in Surat. The advantage of this train is that we would reach our place in the morning. It was not the same with other train where we used to reach at night around 2am and 3am. The other advantage is that the train is equipped with security features making it really safe to travel”.
Train is good for business people
Mangal Purohit who is into cloth business said “Humsafar express train will come in handy for business people. Surat is known as a business hub and many businessmen, especially those into cloth business get their goods from Surat. This train will help people to get goods easily”.
Ticket Collectors and Police help passengers
From 9am to 4pm, public were not allowed at the main entrance, and were asked to use subways. At the entrance of subway and on platform No 1, ticket collectors and other railways staffs including Railway Protection Force and state police helped to passengers by guiding them to which platform they should go.
Prime Minister reaches out to people
During his travel to and fro to the Railway station in his vehicle, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to the people standing near Babu Jagjivan Ram circle and waved out to them.
