Tipu Sultan's armoury will roll across to new location

The two-century-old Tipu Sultan's armoury near Srirangapatna in Mandya district will make way for a railway track by moving 100 metres away from its present location. A US firm will relocate the 900-tonne armoury intact and the preliminary work for it has begun.

The abandoned armoury came to public attention after the railways planned doubling of track on the Mysuru-Bengaluru sector. Consequently , the project has been delayed for years.



The track doubling was necessitated by increase in number of commuters between the two cities. As many as 19 trains, including 13 expresses, run between the two cities every day .

When CK Jaffer Sharief was the railway minister, he laid the foundation for converting the meter gauge track to broad gauge. As track doubling was also proposed, steps were taken to lay the broad gauge track without dismantling the meter gauge.However, the railways hit a hurdle at Srirangapatna, as the Tipu's armoury lay in the way .