Bengaluru’s rail network got a gentle nudge, while its suburban network got only a bite-size allocation in the interim Union Budget presented on Friday. A total of ₹3,580 crore has been allocated to railway projects in Karnataka, much of it focussing on track renewal and upgrading bridges.
The largest of Bengaluru’s rail projects is construction of elevated or at-grade corridors to augment line capacities for the suburban railway network. The sanctioned cost is ₹23,093 crore. On Friday, South Western Railway (SWR) was allocated ₹10 crore, which though meagre is a bigger commitment than ₹50 lakh set aside last year.
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy expressed his discontent with the allocation made for the suburban rail project. “They (the Centre) pressurised me. They said if I cleared it and sent the proposal, they would take a decision in the budget. But nothing is there in the budget,” he said.
While the budget did not announce new lines, the thrust has been for on-going works. In Bengaluru, at least ₹175 crore has been allocated for doubling and quadrupling major lines within the city, including ₹51 crore for the quadrupling of the Bengaluru City –Whitefield–Bengaluru City–Krishnarajapuram line and ₹82 crore for the Baiyappanahalli–Hosur line (48 km). The long-pending project to make Baiyappanahalli the third coaching terminal for the city has been allocated ₹20 crore.
Similarly, Bengaluru city will gets its first shed for maintenance of electric locomotives, which are important in a suburban line, with the sanctioning of ₹10.82 crore for a new homing shed.
Sanjeev Dyamanavar, a member of the citizens’ group Praja Raag and an advocate of suburban railways, said the budget was in the right direction but also pointed out to slow progress, particularly in the third coaching terminal at Baiyappanahalli.
He also pointed out that there were no new projects for automated signalling or elimination of level-crossings. “Automated signalling is important as it can increase capacity of lines by more than 60%. This will allow for more short-distance trains to be operational in the suburban network,” said Mr. Dyamanavar.
State projects
A Railways official said the emphasis in the budget has been on track renewal of existing lines and completion of ongoing works. The increase in grants has been 120% as compared with last year, said the officials. Just ₹109 crore has been announced for new works. The ₹1,982-crore Gadag–Wadi line (252 km) has been given ₹150 crore, while the ₹1,816-crore Tumakuru–Chitradurg–Davangere (199.7 km) has been allocated ₹100 crore.