More suburban rail services from Cantt station under Gati Shakti

BENGALURU: Nearly three months after the announcement that Bengaluru division will be among the four railway divisions in the country to be brought under the Prime Minister’s Gati Shakti initiative, Mysuru and Hubballi divisions of the South Western Railway (SWR) Zone too have been brought under it. The objective behind Gati Shakti is to fast-track crucial railway projects.

SWR General Manager Sanjeev Kishore said, “The move was finalised last week. This is in line with the Railway Board’s mandate to set up Gati Shatkti units across all divisions. A Chief Project Manager, who will report to the Divisional Railway Manager on selected projects, will be appointed. They will be tightly integrated with the operations,” he said.

Asked about the status of the projects already brought under the Gati Shakti unit in Bengaluru, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Shyam Singh said remodelling of KSR Bengaluru yard and augmentation of terminal facilities at Bengaluru Cantonment are under the ambit of Gati Shakti presently.  

“The completion of works at Bengaluru Cantonment will facilitate running of more suburban services towards Whitefield. It will be ready by March 2023,” the DRM said.Elaborating on the works carried out there, he said, “At Bengaluru Cantonment, two island platforms are being built. A Foot Over Bridge will also be built while an existing FOB near Bengaluru East station will be demolished. Nearly 50 per cent of the work has been completed so far,” he said. Yard works at KSR Bengaluru too was progressing well, the DRM added.