Karnataka   

New trains on full steam, but brakes on network creation

BANGALORE: While four new trains, extension of two trains and increase in frequency of seven trains as announced in the Railway Budget 2007-08 have become a happy reality for railway passengers of Karnataka, a reality check before the forthcoming budget reveals that a majority of the 12 projects — ongoing and new — announced by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad have not reached their full steam.

The year 2007-08 also saw some satisfaction over the long-awaited introduction of a passenger train between Bangalore and Mangalore and a few controversies, including the Group D recruitment in South Western Railway (SWR) and damage to Railway property over Mr. Lalu Prasad’s purported statement against Kannadigas.

Budget announcements on new trains, Bijapur-Bagalkot Express, Yeshwanthpur-Chennai Weekly Express, Sholapur-Bagalkot Express and Yeshwanthpur-Secunderabad Garib Rath, extension of Tirupati-Guntakal Passenger to Hubli and Ajmer-Bangalore Express to Mysore and increase in frequency of Miraj-Belgaum Passenger (daily), Thiruvananthapuram- Mangalore Maveli Express (daily), Hatia-Yeshwanthpur Express (bi-weekly), Patna-Bangalore Express (daily), Yeshwanthpur- Kannur Express (tri-weekly) and Bangalore-Kochuvelli Express (tri-weekly), have been carried out. However, the passenger train between Yeshwanthpur-Mangalore via Arsikere announced in the 2006-07 Budget is yet to be introduced.

While the Railways was quick enough in carrying out promises on train services, the same alacrity was absent in completing the projects. Although Mr. Lalu Prasad had promised priority to projects co-funded by respective State governments, projects co-funded by Karnataka, including the Bangalore-Mysore line doubling, Shimoga-Talaguppa gauge conversion, new lines between Kottur and Harihar, Gulbarga and Bidar and Munirabad and Mehaboobnagar are yet to pick up speed.

Doubling work on the Bangalore-Mysore track (two-thirds State share) is nearly complete till Ramanagaram, though the SWR says the project requires another four years for completion. It said construction of a major bridge across the Cauvery will take more time. On the other hand, gauge conversion work between Gadag and Bagalkot and Nanjangud and Chamarajanagar are nearing completion.

Though the State Government shares half of the cost (Rs. 140 crore) of gauge conversion between Shimoga and Talaguppa, work is going on at a slow pace due to shortage of sleepers. SWR is reportedly going slow because operations on this line do not bring in the expected returns.

V.P. Baligar, Principal Secretary, Infrastructure Development, told The Hindu that the 2007-08 Budget allocation for Karnataka was nearly double compared to the previous budget. However, the Railways should allocate more funds for Karnataka, which has been “very proactive” and is sharing costs of many projects, he said.

The new line between Kottur and Harihar via Harappanahalli (65 km) is aimed at boosting transportation of iron ore from the Bellary region. Works on Kottur-Harappanahalli (30 km) and Harappanahalli-Harihar line (35 km) have been simultaneously taken up and are expected to be completed by the end of this year.

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