Trains to Mysuru to run on electricity by November: SWR

Doubling of track nears completion, but won't cut travel time much

With Tipu Sultan’s armoury making way for the completion of a 1.5-km stretch of the second track between Srirangapatna and Mysuru, South Western Railway is working full steam to electrify the track between Yeliyur (near Mandya) and Mysuru.

“Most of the civil work has been completed and the double track is expected to be commissioned by November 2017. As far as electrification is concerned, the work between Yeliyur and Mysuru is almost complete. Work in the Mysuru yard and the new bridge across River Cauvery in Srirangapatna is in progress,” SWR chief public relations officer E Vijaya told DH, adding that the entire work will be completed by November.

She said as part of doubling, a total of 11 level-crossing gates (three unmanned and eight manned) have been eliminated with construction of road over/under bridges, which will play a major role in eliminating accidents on tracks.

The doubling of track is over a decade-old project, which was delayed because of the 223-year-old armoury built by Tipu Sultan coming in the way of the track. After shifting the armoury at a cost of Rs 13.6 crore, work is on to finish the doubling project.

“It is a busy stretch which sees more than 20 trains running every day and we rarely get time to work during the day. Though the target is end of the year, we want to finish it months earlier and go for inspection by the Commissioner for Railway Safety soon,” a railway official involved in the work said.

No change in locomotive
The electrification of the Bengaluru-Mysuru track will reduce the time required for changing locomotives at Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) city railway station in Bengaluru. “Two daily and four weekly trains to Mysuru which arrive with electric locomotives have to be stopped for about 15 minutes at KSR to attach a diesel locomotive. Electrification of tracks will also contribute in decongesting KSR station,” a railway official said.

The track doubling, however, will not cut the travel time. “The maximum difference may be about five minutes. Over the years, travel time has been reduced by nearly 45 minutes as we have utilised the portions of the second track approved by the safety authorities,” the official said.