The long-pending demand for a new railway line between Belagavi and Dharwad via Kittur has been sanctioned by the Railway Board.
Addressing presspersons in Belagavi on Monday, Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi said that the new 73-km railway project between Belagavi and Dharwad via Kittur would be taken up at total cost of ₹ 927.40 crore.
At present, although there is rail connectivity, it is a circuitous route taking almost three hours and people of the region had been demanding a shorter route.
Mr. Angadi said that with the new line, the distance between the three important cities Hubballi, Dharwad and Belagavi would be reduced significantly and consequently, the running time would also be reduced. The new line would also improve connectivity to places along the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway, he said.
This new line would connect important places such as Kittur, MK Hubballi and Bagewadi and the distance between Belagavi and Dharwad would be reduced by 31 km.
There will be 11 railway railway stations along the new line, including the four stations already in existence, namely Dharwad, Kyarakoppa, Desur and Belagavi. The new stations are Mummigatti, Teguru, Kittur, Hulikatti, MK Hubballi, Bagewadi and Kanvikarvinkoppa.
Mr. Angadi said that the State government had already agreed to provide free land and also share the construction cost.
Meanwhile, South Western Railway General Manager Ajay Kumar Singh has said that the State government and the Railways were working in co-ordination for easy connectivity and the proposed new line would be a significant milestone in the State in rail connectivity.
As per the authorities, under the project, ₹ 755.69 crore is being spent for civil engineering works, ₹ 25.93 crore for electrical works, ₹ 67.79 crore for electrification and ₹ 77.99 crore for signal and telecommunication.