Relief for commuters, MEMU rail services to begin tomorrow

In a move that could decongest the city, MEMU (mainline electric multiple unit) rail services are all set to become operational on Monday.

Linking the IT hub of Whitefield to the city centre, MEMU services will be a boon to techies. Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu will flag off the train that would ply between Ramanagaram, Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station Bengaluru and Kuppam.

CM tweets

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday tweeted, “GoK will provide 80% of the Rs 360 crore needed to convert 15 trains (passenger trains) into MEMU trains. This is the beginning of suburban rail for Bengaluru.” However, in a subsequent tweet, he stated that although the state agreed to provide 80% of the cost to kick-start the suburban railway, he requested the Centre to agree to a 50:50 sharing model.

Besides introduction of MEMUs, several other railway works were in the pipeline, Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru Division, Sanjiv Agarwal, said, ‘The ‘Chuku Buku Railu Beku’ awareness campaign demanding commuter rail service for the city last year saw the participation of thousands of Bengaluru residents.

The Bengaluru-Pune doubling work would be completed in four years, according to Railway officials.  Work is in the final stages on the Mysuru-Bengaluru double line. With just 1.5 km left to be doubled, the stretch would be ready by March.

Work on the Hassan-Bengaluru stretch is in the final stages of completion. Trains have started plying on the Bengaluru-Nelamangala and on the Hassan-Shravanabelagola stretches. Work between Shravanabelagola and Nelamangala is due to be completed by February. Also, work on the Rayadurga-Tumakuru stretch is on the verge of completion. By the end of the year, the 260-km line would be ready.
A train would ply between Yeshwantpur and Shivamogga three days a week. This would be flagged off by Suresh Prabhu on Monday and regular trips would start on January 18.