B'luru-Mysuru high-speed rail project derails

A proposal to introduce a high-speed train service between Bengaluru-Mysuru has been dropped as not feasible.

Disclosing this to the media, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the proposal to extend the Chennai-Bengaluru high-speed corridor till Mysuru has not been found feasible. Instead, the State government will pursue a proposal to upgrade Bengaluru-Mysuru national highway into a six-lane road, he added.

The Rail Vikas Nigam and High Speed Rail Corporation had jointly conducted a survey of the existing rail link between the two cities. The survey found that running trains in excess of 160 kmph on the stretch was not feasible owing to too many track curvatures.

The Chief Minister said the Centre has already given in-principle approval for six-laning of the highway, which is estimated to cost about Rs 5,000 crore. About Rs 2,000 crore was required for land acquisition alone. Road works would require about Rs 3,000 crore. The project work will commence next year. Besides, work on doubling of track is nearing completion, he added.

Siddaramaiah said soon appropriate measures would be initiated to tackle air pollution in Bengaluru, which is a major cause of concern. It is mainly due to increasing number of vehicles on roads, he added.

Asked whether the Delhi government’s decision to allow odd-even number plate vehicles to ply on specific days would be emulated, he said he would look into it. Siddaramaiah  said he would soon meet officials of State department of Environment, Forest and Ecology to discuss  the steps to be taken.

The Chief Minister, who is under pressure to issue licences for new liquor shops, said there was a need for more liquor shops. However, he said the government has no intention to issue new licences in the coming days. “There is an increasing demand for new shops due to increase in population. More and more people are drinking. But number of shops have not increased in proportion to the increase in population,” he stated.

He, however, reiterated that there was no proposal before the government to introduce cheap liquor in the State.