Karnataka: Caught between crosswinds

Karnataka’s overall railway network spans 3,836 km, but many key tier-2 cities are yet to be connected. For instance, there is one train between Hubballi and Kalaburagi but none between Belagavi and Mangaluru.

The coastal city has a few trains to Bengaluru but hardly any to North Karnataka. “Mangaluru is no one’s baby because the city comes under three railway zones (Southern Railway, South Western Railway (SWR) and Konkan Railways). No zone has tried to improve train connectivity here. The ongoing construction of the fourth and fifth platforms at Mangaluru Central railway station could help introduce more trains but the project has been delayed for years,” said Hanumanth Kamath, a railway activist.

Demand exists for better connectivity from coastal Karnataka to Bengaluru, Mysuru, Hubballi, Vijayapura and other cities. However, strong lobbying from private bus owners has stalled the efforts, observers say.

In Kalyana Karnataka, more trains are needed to Bengaluru. Currently, five daily trains run between Kalaburagi and Bengaluru, and all run jam-packed. Bidar-Ballari and Kalaburagi-Hubballi are other routes where people want trains.

But here again, the problem lies with the fact that the region comes under three railway zones. Cities like Bidar and Raichur fall under the South Central Railway (SCR) while Kalaburagi and Wadi belong to the Central Railway (CR). Ballari, Koppal and Gangawathi are attached to the SWR.

Coordination between railway zones is poor, and this shows in train connectivity.

In an RTI reply to Kalyana Karnataka Grahakara Vedike president Sunil Kulkarni, the Indian Railways said nearly 2 lakh passengers book tickets between Kalaburagi and Bengaluru per month. An equal number of passengers travel in unreserved compartments as well. Yet there is no train that originates from Kalaburagi and goes to Bengaluru.

“We don’t know whom to ask… CR, SCR or SWR. Our demand for more trains has fallen on deaf ears,” said Kulkarni.

Neeraj Kumar Dohare, Divisional Railway Manager, Central Railway, Solapur, said that the division had sent several recommendations to the Railway Board to start new trains from Kalaburagi to Bengaluru but the proposals were turned down due to “certain constraints".

In Karnataka, decades-old projects to build new railway lines — Ginigera-Raichur (165 km), sanctioned in 1997-98; Bagalkot-Kudachi (142 km), sanctioned in 2010-11; and Tumakuru-Chitradurga-Davangere (199.7 km), sanctioned in 2011-12 — remain incomplete.

In all, 22 major projects are still pending due to various reasons, including the non-release of sufficient funds, land acquisition issues, environmental concerns and legal hurdles.

SWR Chief Public Relations Officer Aneesh Hegde said new railway lines were being laid and existing ones doubled on a war footing. He promised better railway connectivity in the near future.

While he acknowledged legal and land acquisition hurdles in implementing railway projects, Hegde claimed there was a substantial improvement in the last financial year. “There is now greater coordination between the SWR and the state government to implement the projects. By December 2024, we will fully electrify our entire network. And the doubling of lines in key segments will improve section speed and safety,” he said.