Sadananda Gowda for Hassan,Mangalore rail line doubling.

The March 2016 deadline set by Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda for the 172-km Bangalore-Hassan new railway line, if completed on time, may reduce travel time between the two cities. However, it will not bring more trains - freight or passenger - as the bottleneck is in the Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road (55 km) ghat section.

Due to restrictions on speed and simultaneous movement of freight and passenger trains through the ghat section, only 14 trains could be operated in a span of 24 hours, officials of Hassan-Mangalore Rail Development Corporation (HMRDC), specially constituted for the purpose of construction of the broad gauge line on the stretch, said.

Aware of this bottleneck, Mr. Sadananda Gowda is working towards doubling the rail line. He told The Hindu that the Ministry is looking for potential investors, including the New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), to take up the project. He said that the Railways has allowed elsewhere private parties to construct lines for transporting their freight.

At the same time, the Ministry is in touch with the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which has assured it of giving environment clearance for projects in up to 40 hectares of forest land. Mr. Sadananda Gowda is hopeful of getting clearance for the entire 55-km stretch.


THE HINDU