'Low traffic potential' leads to scrapping of Mysuru-Kushalnagar rail project

Mysuru: The proposed Mysuru-Belagola-Kushalnagar railway project has been scrapped, according to sources from the South Western Railways.

Kodagu is a district without any rail connectivity. There has been a demand for a railway line to connect Kodagu district, for several decades. Minister of State for Railways V Somanna had shown interest in implementing the project. A proposal was prepared at a cost of Rs 3,084 crore and the Karnataka state government was urged to provide lands for the project. But, the state government had written to the Centre, urging it to drop the project.

The proposed 89-km long railway route has been dropped by the Ministry of Railways due to low traffic potential and does not have the capacity to get expected financial returns and is not profitable in the long term, it is said.

The Ministry of Railways had shown a green signal to the SWR to conduct a survey in the year 2018-19. It was estimated that around 1,379 acres of land was needed for the project. The survey was started in June 2022.