B’luru-Hassan rail line set to be commissioned; to reduce travel distance to M’luru

Bengaluru/Mangaluru: The direct railway line between Bengaluru and Hassan is finally ready for commissioning and the line is said to reduce the distance as well as the time travel between the state capital and coastal city Mangaluru.

The move comes nearly two decades after the then PM H D Deve Gowda sanctioned the project.

The 110-kilometer rail line between Nelamangala and Shravanabelagola has been completed and is awaiting statutory inspection by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) which is likely to be held by month-end. A 14-kilometer stretch between Chikkabanavara (off Bengaluru) and Nelamangala and 42 kilometers between Hassan and Shravanabelagola have been commissioned.

Sources say that trains that transported materials were already on tracks. It is said that the CRS would conduct a speed trials during the inspection and check the track’s suitability when trains ran above 110 km per hour.

With the new line ready, it is said to reduce the railroad distance between Bengaluru and Hassan by 50 kilometers via Arsikere and 87 kilometers via Mysuru, thereby reducing time required to travel by at least an hour. Thus, the distance between Bengaluru and Mangaluru would be reduced to 340 kilometers from the present 390 (via Arsikere) and 447 (via Mysuru).

It is said that the newly commissioned rail line will connect places of importance such as Adichunchanagiri, Shravanabelagola and Kukke Subrahmanya.