Minister for Railways Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday announced that Gulbarga will soon become railway sub-division of Sholapur Division. An international standard railway steel coach manufacturing unit will be set up in Yadgir District.

Briefing reporters, after inspecting the Rail Wheel factory in City, Kharge said in order to bring better co-ordination among various railway divisions, Gulbarga will be converted into a sub-division and have an administrative officer of Sholapur Division as head.

Kharge said Gulbarga has railway lines of various divisions and there is a need of better co-ordination of railways in Gulbarga.  An administrative officer to be appointed will be assigned with maintainence of tracks and construction of new lines, he added.   

Kharge also announced that Yadgir District will have a Linke Holfmann Busch (LHB) coaches factory, which can be used in high speed railways. The factory, to be set up at a cost of Rs 75 crore, will come up on 150 acre plot granted by the State government. “It will be funded by the Centre and within five years it will be increased to Rs 700 crore,” he added.

The factory will be manufacturing 300 coaches annually and be ready before February 2014 and supplement factories set by the railways at Rae Bareli and Kapurthala. Kharge further announced that work on Gulbarga- Bidar railway lines was in full swing and Wadi- Gadag railway line work was also on.