National High-Speed Rail Corporation to submit Detailed Project Report
Bengaluru: The State Government will soon convene a high-level meeting to discuss land acquisition for the high-speed rail corridor between Mysuru and Chennai via Bengaluru.
Infrastructure Minister V. Somanna told reporters in Bengaluru on Friday that the Centre recently asked National High-Speed Rail Corporation to submit a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to implement the project.
The ambitious project was conceived in 2014. The proposed bullet train will take about three hours to cover 485 kilometres from Mysuru to Chennai. Currently, trains take 8-9 hours. “The Centre has given the green signal to prepare the DPR for Karnataka’s first bullet train project on the long-awaited Mysuru-Bengaluru-Chennai route. We have decided to identify land and finalise modalities for land acquisition,” he said.
It is a line to be built at a cost of Rs. 1.15 lakh crore. The State Government will provide the required land for the total project. “There is a proposal to build the corridor along the 10-lane highway between Bengaluru and Mysuru. We’ll discuss it at the meeting,” he added. While the State Government has to provide land, the Centre will bear the entire project cost,” Somanna said.
After the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, the Centre is ready to connect the major cities of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. If this project is implemented, it will be possible to travel from Mysuru to Bengaluru in 45 minutes and from Bengaluru to Chennai in two hours.
“Before the State Government acquires land for the project, a Memorandum of Understanding has to be signed between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu that will facilitate land acquisition in the neighbouring State,” he added.
He said works on nine new rail lines, including Munirabad-Mahbubnagar, Tumakuru-Rayadurga, Chikkamagalur-Belur and Tumakuru-Davanagere, are on and the State Government has released Rs. 1,600 crore for them.
“All these lines are expected to be ready for operation in two years,” he added. On the demand for more trains between Bengaluru and Hosur, he said since the 22-km Yeshwantpur-Channasandra and 42-km Byappanahalli-Hosur stretches are single lines, running additional trains is not possible.
This post was published on July 30, 2022 6:39 pm