Stakeholders plea for infrastructure revamp to unlock full potential of Mysuru-Bengaluru rail link

Stakeholders and rail users want seamless integration of railways and metro to avail benefits of track doubling of the Mysuru-Bengaluru section.
| Photo Credit: M.A. Sriram

Will the long-pending plea for infrastructure upgradation on the Mysuru-Bengaluru section materialise to harness the full benefits of track doubling and electrification?

That is the question doing rounds among stakeholders following the Zonal Railway Users’ Consultative Committee of the South Western Railway held at Hubballi recently.

Mr. Lingaraju, president of the Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), who is a member of the committee was one of the representatives from the Mysuru division who  attended the meeting.

He pitched for additional stoppage for all trains at Jnanabharathi Halt Station near Bengaluru. This is a persistent demand from many passengers as the Namma Metro station is just across the foot-over-bridge and makes it convenient for Bengaluru-bound commuters to disembark and shift to the metro mode as it is time-saving and convenient.

But at present, not all trains stop at Jnanabharati Halt station due to infrastructure constraints. The station platform is long enough to accommodate rakes of 20 coaches but not rakes with 24 coaches. So at present only a MEMU and passenger trains stop here. All express trains with rakes of more than 20 coaches do not halt given the length of the platform depriving the passengers of the benefit of shifting to metro mode to save time.  

The current practice of many Bengaluru-bound passengers is to disembark at Kengeri. But the metro station is not integrated to the railway station and is at a considerable distance.

Mr. Lingaraju said the senior railway officials have promised to ramp up infrastructure at Jnanabharati Halt so that more trains from Mysuru can be given a halt.

But Mr. Yogendra, an activist advocating better railway facilities and connectivity, said this is a long pending demand from regular commuters and passengers from Mysuru.

He said due to platform constraints at Bengaluru, the full benefits of track doubling and electrification were yet to be passed on to the public. It takes about 45 minutes to traverse a distance of 12 km from Kengeri to Bengaluru city and most trains are given extended stoppage at Kengeri due to platform constraints at Bengaluru. This neutralizes the benefit of fast travel from Mysuru to Kengeri, he added.

So, he called for the extension of the platform at Jnanabharati Halt to facilitate the stoppage of 24 coach trains. However, the extension of the platform at Jnanabharati entails a sizeable investment because there is an underpass immediately after the station and need to be replaced that entails major civil works.

Mr. Lingaraju also sought train connectivity from Mysuru to Goa to connect two important tourist destinations and the authorities have promised to consider the demand. Incidentally, Mysuru MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar had also urged the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to extend the SMCT Bengaluru-Murudeshwar Express to Vasco-da-Gama.