DPR to be submitted to Railway Board between July and December 2025; estimated project cost Rs. 6,850 crore

Mysore/Mysuru: In a major boost to travel infrastructure and regional connectivity, the South Western Railway has set the ball rolling to quadruple the Railway lines between Bengaluru and Mysuru.

Addressing a press conference last Thursday, Ashutosh Kumar Singh, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Bengaluru Division, outlined the progress of key projects in the region.

Once completed, the quadrupled lines will enable trains to run between Bengaluru and Mysuru every 10 minutes, promising passengers a faster, safer and more comfortable journey.

According to officials, the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the quadrupling work will be submitted to the Railway Board between July and December this year. The estimated cost of the project stands at Rs. 6,850 crore.

This development comes amid ongoing discussions about extending Metro connectivity and building a dedicated Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) to link Bengaluru with neighbouring towns and cities.

In December 2023, the Railway Board approved the final location survey for quadrupling the Bengaluru-Mysuru section and also cleared a similar survey for a circular Railway project on Bengaluru’s outskirts.

Once the project is executed, two dedicated train sets will operate: One exclusively for Bengaluru-Mysuru commuters and another connecting Mysuru with other destinations. New tracks will be laid alongside existing ones, and electrification works will be carried out simultaneously, Railway Board officials confirmed. Unlike standalone Metro lines, suburban Railway systems in India are integrated into the broader Indian Railways network, ensuring better infrastructure utilisation and                          network efficiency.

Namo Bharat trains proposed for Mysuru

Meanwhile, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which operates India’s first semi-high-speed RRTS, has proposed to bring Namo Bharat corridors to Karnataka.

Four new corridors originating from Bengaluru have been suggested to strengthen regional connectivity and unlock economic potential in satellite cities. The proposed routes include: Bengaluru-Mysuru (145 kms), Bengaluru-Hoskote-Kolar (65 kms), Bengaluru-Tumakuru (60 kms) and Bengaluru-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri (138 kms, extending into Tamil Nadu)

The proposed lines aim to provide high-speed, point-to-point travel between Bengaluru and rapidly growing urban clusters. Estimated travel times are 46 minutes to Kolar or Tumakuru, and about one hour to Mysuru.

In a letter to the Karnataka Government, the NCRTC expressed readiness to prepare DPRs for these or other corridors.

Namo Bharat trains differ from Metro systems, catering to longer-distance passengers with fewer stops at higher speeds. Designed for a top speed of 180 km/h and an operational speed of 160 km/h, the trains can maintain an average speed of 90 km/h — nearly three times that of                                                                conventional Metro services.

The NCRTC has offered to send a team to Bengaluru to present the proposal to the Chief Secretary and stakeholders.

To help Karnataka officials experience the system first-hand, NCRTC has invited them to visit the operational stretch between Sarai Kale Khan and Modipuram in the Delhi-NCR region. It has also offered assistance in preparing initial documentation for the proposed corridors. The letter stressed that the RRTS adopts global best practices such as all-weather operations, advanced signalling, and exclusive viaduct or tunnel alignments to ensure reliable, high-frequency regional connectivity.