Railway projects worth Rs 53,000 cr underway in Karnataka, says MoS Somanna

Minister of State for Railways & Jal Shakti V Somanna on Tuesday said the Union Budget has allocated Rs 7748 crore for railway projects in Karnataka, accelerating the railway infrastructure development in the state.

The state already has projects worth Rs 52,950 crore under implementation, the MoS said speaking at an event after flagging off four pairs of express trains at Nayandahalli railway station in Bengaluru. The railways has introduced a stop for the express trains at Nayandahalli station, responding to a long pending demand of locals.

The quadrupling work between Bengaluru Cantonment and Whitefield is also progressing swiftly, Somanna said.


The railways is also working on a proposal to develop a Mega Coaching Terminal at Yelahanka, Somanna, who represents Tumakuru in the Lok Sabha, said. The terminal at Yelahanka was going to be the largest such facility in the country when it is ready, he added.

The Indian Railways, Somanna said, was witnessing rapid development under PM Narendra Modi, and many pending works were now progressing at a faster pace.

The Centre, he said, was eliminating level crossing gates with road under/over bridges (RuB/RoBs) across the country to ensure safety of people and reduce traffic congestion.

The stoppage of trains at Nayandahalli, Somanna said, would help daily commuters, students and workers.

Nayandahalli comes under Govindarajanagar assembly constituency in Bengaluru. Somanna had represented it during the previous BJP regime, where he also got Bengaluru’s erstwhile civic body BBMP build Dr.Puneeth Rajkumar Multi-Specialty hospital.

The new stop will help people travelling to and from Bengaluru, Mysuru, Bagalkot, Tamil Nadu, Hubballi-Dharwad, and Pandharpur as well as those commuting daily between Mysuru and Bengaluru, the MoS (railways) said.

This move will significantly improve connectivity and ease daily travel for commuters in the region, Somanna said, while requesting passengers to make full use of the enhanced convenience.

People living in nearby residential areas including Chandra layout, Suvarna layout, ITI layout, Nagarabhavi, RR Nagar, Kathriguppe and Hosakerehalli will benefit a lot from the new halt.

The four pairs of trains that the minister flagged off are: Train No. 16215/16216 Mysuru–KSR Bengaluru Chamundi Express, Train No. 17307/17308 Mysuru-Bagalkot-Mysuru Basava Express, Train No. 16235/16236 Tuticorin- Mysuru- Tuticorin Express, and Train No. 16535/16536 Mysuru- Pandharpur- Mysuru Golgumbaz Express - with an additional stoppage at Nayandahalli Railway Station.

The MoS also inaugurated an RoB between Vijayanagar and Padarayanapura. The RoB between Vijayanagar and Padarayanapura, built at a cost of Rs 14 crore, will benefit a large number of people from Goripalya, Vijayanagar and surrounding areas by easing traffic congestion and improving connectivity, Somanna said.

Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Bengaluru Division, Ashutosh Kumar Singh, and Additional DRM Parikshit Mohanpuria were present at the events.