Yeshwantpur-Tumakuru rail line electrified, ready for safety inspection

The Commissioner of Railway Safety will soon inspect the electrified Yeshwantpur-Tumakuru line.

Bengalureans, however, will have to wait more to take electric trains to the airport because the project to electrify the Yelahanka-Devanahalli section of the Chikkaballapur line has been delayed by over six months.

After conducting trials runs of the electric locomotive over the past month, the South Western Railway (SWR) is awaiting the CRS inspection of the Yeshwantpur-Tumakuru line. “We recently sent the necessary documents to the CRS and are awaiting further information from them. A part of the section between Tumakuru and Hirehalli has already been inspected by the CRS who has made some observations. We have complied with them and given a reply seeking permanent condonation,” SWR chief public relations officer Aneesh Hegde said.

The SWR expects the full 69.47-km section to be inspected by the CRS next month. A green signal from the safety inspector will pave the way for running more local trains, especially MEMU trains, as more and more people travel between Benglauru and Tumakuru.

High tension lines

The electrification of the Yelahanka-Devanahalli section, scheduled to be completed by October, is likely to be delayed by six months. “The delay is due to the criss-crossing of high tension lines of the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL). Even if the electrification infrastructure is in place, we can’t power up the lines until the high tension lines have been shifted,” another official said.

The SWR has contacted the KPTCL over the issue. “We have been working with the KPTCL. Recently, a survey was conducted to identify the site for shifting the high tension towers. Since the matter involves the acquisition of land and cooperation from different departments, it may take some time,” the official explained.

Sanjeev Dyamannavar, an urban transport activist, said the railways should restart all the passenger trains that were stopped during the pandemic. “Mere enhancing the infrastructure and capacity will not benefit the passengers. The railways should start normal train operations at the earliest and shift their focus from goods trains to passenger trains,” he said.

The railways stopped the trains to the Kempegowda International Airport due to poor patronage. Only 2,098 people took the train in four months of its operation.

Dyamannavar said there were several reasons for the poor patronage. “There were several issues with timings and then there was the pandemic. It takes time for a train to gain steady patronage and the railways must wait. Optimum utilisation of assets to provide transportation to the poor is necessary even if it leads to some losses. There are benefits to be gained from such operations,” he added.