Rly minister promises to speed up doubling of Chikjajur - Hubballi line

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday promised Karnataka BJP leaders that all steps will be taken to complete the proposed doubling of the Chikjajur-Hubballi railway line by 2019.

During his meeting with former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and former BJP state unit president Prahlad Joshi, Prabhu said line doubling between Tumakuru and Chikjajur is going on. Preparatory work on doubling of 190-km railway line between Chikjajur and Hubballi has already started.

Joshi told reporters that the minister promised take up the project on a priority. Doubling of railway lines would help increase economic activities in the twin cities and create more jobs.
Both the leaders urged the railway minister to visit Hubballi and review activities of the SWR Zone, mainly the construction of the new office complex of the zonal headquarters. They also demanded starting a new train between Hubballi and Mangaluru and between Hubballi and Varanasi. They sought expediting the starting of a semi-high-speed train between Bengaluru and Hubballi and demanded naming Dharwad-Mysuru Intercity Express as Siddharuda Express.