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Bangalore-Mysore rail track doubling

Would anyone know of the status of this long pending project ? It's re-revised date for completion ? The hassles ? And the way out, if any ?
Bhamyshenoy's picture

Mysore Bangalore doubling the line

Bhamy V Shenoy

MGP is a member of the Railways advisory committee. MGP has been trying to promote this since 15 years. Those who want this to happen should take part in MGP activities and support it. This is a long way from happening. We need a people's movement.

Bhamy V Shenoy

Convener, Mysore Grahakara Parishat 

shas3n's picture

According to this

According to this report from Hindu, the work should have begun now and should be complete in another two years. But I dont think much has happened in that front yet. In fact in an earlier post, a co-blogger wondered if BMIC would be irrelevant if this track comes into existance.

B.V. Shenoy, can you please throw some more light on MGP please? May be there are areas in which Praja has synergies with such groups.

-Shastri

-Shastri

G V Krishnan's picture

BMIC and track doubling

It's an interesting line of thinking. Karnataka government that doesn't seem all that enthusiastic about the Expressway project ought to be pushing the pace of track doubling. Maybe those promoting road transport on the Bangalore-Mysore highway, notably Volvo traffic, may not see it in their best interest to have the rail track doubling project implemented. No one, at this stage, may be able to dump the track doubling project; but its completion can be delayed by resourceful vested interests.
E.R. Ramachandran's picture

Double-Crossed Project!

                                 Fast -Track Projects of Karnataka  It’s 2056. The advances made in the last 50 years are truly amazing. Travel between Earth and Moon is routine and one can’t believe somebody paid US $10 Million for a visit to Moon and back in 2020! Now, a routine round trip to Moon costs less than $1000, economy class! Bombay –Delhi is covered in 5 hours flat in Maha Shatabdi Bullet Express .    The Chief Secretary of Karnataka beeped and came on the videophone and announced an urgent Press conference. I flipped my Palmtop to Computer mode and saw a beaming C.S. on the screen ready for the meeting. It must have been very important or urgent. Otherwise C.S. rarely called for a Press Conference without enough notice. I noticed on the screen my colleagues from media were already there. “ Good morning! Sorry, I didn’t give enough time.  The Cabinet has cleared sharing the cost of the Bangalore- Mysore Railway Project with the Center. The survey work between Ramnagaram and Chennapatna will start soon.” “You must be talking about the Banglore Mysore Railway Double Line Project  -  (BMRDLP) - estimated at Rs.5000 Crores. We saw the Project Report in Railway museum! That’s really good news.  Have they cleared R-C Survey also?” “ The C.M. himself conveyed this over videophone. He has released US $10 Million for the survey.” “US$10 M is peanuts! I don’t know what you can achieve with such measly amount.  When do you think the BMRDLP will be completed, sir?” “ You are looking too far ahead! Tomorrow morning, I’m going to Delhi by Maha Karnataka Express and will be back by night. I’ll get the Railway Minister to commit a decade for this. I’m hopeful either by 2080 or 2090, this should be through. In any case before 3000.” “ Nobody will believe we’ll have a Bangalore- Mysore double line by 2090! You are an incurable optimist, Sir! ” “Let’s see. Even our M.P.s and MLAs are working overtime on this! There’s yet another good news. The Chief Justice has selected the building for the Hubli- Dharwad High Court! He called me on the way to Moon and conveyed this. He was on his way to attend to some personal litigation work! It’s an old building, but the PWD has been asked to renovate it. Within the next 20 years, the PWD Dept. will make it into as good as new. I have just now sanctioned Rs. 100 Crores.  From 2076, when the Court becomes operational, Hubli and Dharwad people won’t have to come to Bangalore any more! “ Are you sure by 2076, H-D- C will start its work?” “ We are trying hard. P.M. himself wants to inaugurate this. But he goes to Mars so often for the G-37 meeting of Developed Countries! Must some how get suitable dates from him……” “Any other project in the pipeline?” “Nothing till I come from Saturn Space Station where all the State Chief Secretaries are meeting to discuss ‘Fast Track Projects for Developed Country’. I am presenting Bangalore- Mysore Railway Double Line and Hubli- Dharwad Court Projects.”                                                      ………………. 

E.R. Ramachandran                                                                   30 June 2006

Believe me! Nothing has happened over the last one year.

ERR  
Vasanth's picture

Double Track Completed Upto Kengeri

Hi, I am a frequent traveller to Mysore in Train. Double track is completed upto Kengeri and there is no waiting for crossing upto Kengeri. It completed almost 4-5 months back. Upto Bidadi, it is almost near completion. From Bidadi to Ramanagaram, land has been levelled and made ready for track construction. Near Kethohalli, between Bidadi and Ramanagaram, even track has been laid upto some distance. Earlier, Bangalore Mysore trains used to be very fast and express trains used to cover distance in 2 1/2 - 2 hours 45 minutes max. Now, with increased number of compartments, trains have become slow and takes more than 3 hours mainly because of using less powerful engines. Only one Non-stop train Tippu Express covers the distance in around 2 hours 15 minutes to 2hours 30 minutes which during the introduction of service used to cover the distance in 2 hours and sometimes even in 1hour 45 minutes. Currently, the system is not properly managed. Trains coming to Bangalore are simply extended to Mysore for cleaning purpose and shed and usually these trains have more number of reserved compartments which doesn't serve the purpose of a Bangalore Mysore traveller. We get lot of trains for numbers, but not all of them are properly serving the purpose. In the existing system with single line itself, there is scope for lot of improvement.
tsubba's picture

you should blog this

ERRavare you should blog this here. especially since everything is still current. :)
tsubba's picture

thanks for the updates vasanth

hi vasanth thanks for the updates. on the other end of this line is it true that mys-chamarajanagara BG is done? 'coz real impact of this line is if nanjangud gets connected.

 ps. please consider registering at praja.

 

Bhamyshenoy's picture

doubling the railway track between Mysore and Bangalore

Bhamy V Shenoy

Dear Sashtri,

Mysore Grahakara Parishat has been in existence for the last 18 years. It has more than 700 members on paper. In reality it may not have more than five active members. It is involved in solving every civic problem of the city and it helps any consumer with a problem by giving suggestions. It does not take up consumer complaint unlike some consumer groups. Some call MGP as Mysore Grahachar Parishat or Mysore Galata Parishat. Any way one looks at it, MGP has served Mysore over the years often silently and some times through the press. It has failed to develop the way it should have because of the lethargy and indifference of the people.

When I was on the railway advisory committee as a representative of MGP, I urged it to take double tracking on a war path. Then I realised there was just no interest on the part of the railways. If we want this project to happen, we need a people movement. When we want to oppose say some thermal power plant we can get some support. But when we want some positive thing to happen, we cannot get even that little support.

 

Bhamy V Shenoy

Convener, Mysore Grahakara Parishat 

E.R. Ramachandran's picture

Double line

Dhanyavada saar.

 Some points.

1.It appears the State Govt.   is deliberately dragging its feet on this Important project. The Commercial Manager S/W Rly told us the Railways have time an again reminded that State Govt. should release its share.The officials agree during the meeting, but go back and do nothing.Railway officials feel some other factors, push-pull may be the reason why no action is taken.

2When from P.M. to F.M. feel infrastructure in Bangalore and Mysore is very important for Karnataka and India, why is the State mysteriously keeping quiet and deliberately delaying projects. Knowledgable sources feel getting more 'Volvo' buses seem to be the 'priority' of the State govt. Why? Nobody knows.  With an electrifed track running in 90 minutes ,  a train can replace 10 volvos, at a much cheaper cost to the traveller, why is Govt. hellbent only on procuring more and more volvos?!

3.What about the saving in diesel cost and also the resultant reduction in air pollution?

4. More often there are announcements fromM.P. and others the Railway line will be  a reality soon. The Deputy Railway Minister exposed everybody that it was not even budgetted for in that year!

5. The 'speed' at which this project is moving, the State Govt. may backtrack whnever it can and it will.

What ACTION?

1Petition, directly P.M., F.M. , Railway Minister.

2. Use FICCI, CII,Chamber of commerce, STPI, Industry, Hotels etc  to put pressure and get this moving

MLAs' do not even want this.No point in wasting time there.

Bhamyshenoy's picture

Doubling the railway track between Mysore and BLR

Bhamy V Shenoy

 

Er. Ramachandran has made some excellent points of getting the involvement of FICCI, CII Hotel Onwers Association etc. I have two points here.

Is doubling the track an economic proposition or a welfare measure? If it is an economic proposition why cannot railways find needed budget? If the state governemnt spends money, will they recover it?

When one looks at the traffic between Msyore and BLR, it looks as though doubling should be economical and any responsible company would have taken this project by themsleves.

Let us take a look from another angle. Since our system does not work according to market realities, we need to put pressure on the railways. If we had some dominant political leader like Dakshina Kannada had in 60s, we could have doubled the track a long time. In DK there were leading politicians like late Srinivasa Mallya who was able to bring railways, all weather port, Regional engineering college etc because of his great influence and ability. But we do not have such leaders here in Mysore. In their absence we need people movement. If we can collect signatures of one or two lakhs it can make a difference. But who will come forward to head such a massive efforts?

 

Bhamy V Shenoy

Convener, Mysore Grahakara Parishat 

GVK's picture

ERR's articulation of the

ERR's articulation of the Volvo factor is revealing. Isn't this an era of public-private sector partnership/co-operation/conspiracy ? (Strike out what is not applicable).

Nowadays, we hear more about broad-guaging Mysore-Chamarajanar track than the Mysore-Bangalore track doubling. It may well be that broad-gauging would be completed before track-doubling. An upshot of this would be public pressure on introducing more trains from Mysore, extension of existing trains from Mysore to Ch'nagar, and additional traffic on longdistance trains that continue to originate from Mysore.

In the absence of a double-track this would add up to hold-ups at Mandya, Maddur and some other stations of low priority trains to Bangalore due to crossing of oncoming trains;  delayed running; and an increase beyond three hours in the running time between Mysore and Bangalore.      

Madhukar's picture

During my last trip to

During my last trip to Mysore, the work of levelling, landfilling, dumping of concrete sleepers was on.
GVK's picture

Where, Mr Madhukar ?

Where, Mr Madhukar? When was this ?
tsubba's picture

some luddite arguments

#1. are there social consequences to replacing 50 buses with one train?

#2. for rtc & its uniouns it is survival issue and they have innovated with "volvo", Mysore road terminal etc. nobody asked for volvo. for swr and its uniouns status quo works just fine and they can afford to talk about how there is no pressure from customers. As Dr. Shenoy pointed out, what are swr's service innovations? They have not even been able to provide access to low numbered platforms on the south side at SBC even during peak hours.

nobody asked for a PC or for a satchet shampoo but product/service providers introduced them and then customers realized oho, this is also possible, this what we needed all along.

 

E.R. Ramachandran's picture

Double line

Good comments.However:

1.Railways on their own will not do a project.The Railway authorities told us, they will start a project if it gets them good revenue. For instance, they will add one more line in Mumbai , because their returns are assured.The earnings from freight in Mumbai line will be far more attractive than in Bangalore- Mysore sector.They will do this ,on their own, one day, when they feel they could get good returns in the Bangalore-Mysore sector.

2. If a State Govt. wants to promote a sector, wants it to grow,Railways do the project on a partnership basis. That is how this project was conceived.

3. With Railways in mood for expansion, get Laloo to Mysore to address Management students at JSS to share his'Innovative thinking'( They have been able to get President Kalam 2/3 times).FICCI, CII should help here.Laloo hasn'e even visited Mysore so far. How about getting Laloo to inaugurate Dasara   2007 in Mysore?With P.M. anf F.M. ready to do anything here, Laloo would only be too happy to  accord highest priority to this sector.

4. We need to market our strategy, rather  than wait for budget every year and feel we missed out again.

GVK's picture

Laloo at the Dasara

Excellent idea. Laloo at Dasara. He would be an added attraction, no doubt. Master stroke in Dasara-tourism promotion from ERR, as usual.
tsubba's picture

Laloo...

Laloo is a an excellent idea. The PSUs might not have to compete with private players, but surely, there is a game where we can make them compete against each other.
Vasanth's picture

Problems with current train

Following are the problems with the current system: 1. Track has not been levelled fully. There are lots of "UPS" and "DOWNS". While going to Mysore there are more "DOWNS" than "UPS". Hence trains going towards Mysore take less time compared to trains coming from Mysore to Bangalore. While coming from Mysore, trains are fast upto Srirangapatnam because of "DOWN" and slows down very much from Srirangapatnam to Pandavapura because of "UP" again increases speed upto Byadarahalli where it is level and again slows down for some distance until it enters tunnel where track becomes "DOWN" before Yeliyur and speeds up upto "Mandya". Stretch between Mandya to Maddur is OK with moderate "UPS" & "DOWNS" and slows down after Maddur with "UP" upto settihalli and again increases the speed with "DOWN" from settihalli to Channapatna. After Channapatna it is full "up" until near Ramanagaram with trains going hardly at 50-60kmph. After Ramanagaram it is too steep and trains are dam slow until "Kethohalli". After Kethohalli, there is "DOWN" and it is very fast with train overtaking most of the vehicles on the State Highway parallel to it. After Bidadi again it is dam slow until "Hejjala" with steep up. From Hejjala track is level upto Kengeri and it is fast. After Kengeri, again train slows down with too many curves upto Bangalore. This is the journey from Mysore to Bangalore. Apart from this there are too many curves (compared to meter guage earlier, it is better). You can see the train on the left in a turn, by the time even you can see the train on the right window too. There is lot of scope of improvement here. Earlier, when trains used to have 8 even upto 14 compartments, with the normal engine, we were not able to identify these bottlenecks. Now with 18+ compartments, it has become too slow and more powerful engines are needed. As i stated earlier, express trains used to take 2 1/2 hours and non stop 2 hours, now express takes 3+ hours and non stop takes 2 1/2 hours.
tsubba's picture

really?

ups and downs theory? really?

it is prolly the system to deal with signalling and synchronization. 

Vasanth's picture

Really - There are lots of Ups & Downs

Yes, really there are lots of Ups and Downs. Existing track was not planned properly. Otherwise, non-stop trains would have covered the distance in 1 1/2 hours & Express in 2hours 15 minutes. For instance Shatabdi (though not a train for common man & unaccountable), covers the distance between Bangalore & Mysore in 2 hours & rarely less than 2 hours. On the other hand same train, while travelling towards Chennai, covers distance upto Jolarpetai in 2 hours which is around 190 kms from Bangalore since the track is so level and without curves. Shatabdi is not made to wait anywhere for signals between Bangalore & Mysore. It leaves Mysore & stops in Bangalore. Only exceptional case it stops in between. Shatabdi has got only 8 compartments, whereas normal trains contains upto 18 & sometimes 21 compartments. While making the second track, ofcourse they cannot takeout the curves because of the land issues. Atleast, they can level Ups & Downs. Normal railway engine - WDM2A model is a 2300 horse power engine. It can pull upto around 11-14 compartments without compromise in the speed in Blore-Mysore route. With 18 compartments which is the current scenario, if there is "UP", it slows down to 50 km/h. This I noticed while travelling on a bike parallel to track. There are diesel engines with 3500 horse power - WDM3A and an imported diesel engine from GE with 4000+ horse power called WDP4 which is capable of 160kmph. WDP4 is attached to Shatabdi. If WDM3A / WDP4 is attached, it is slightly better with train atleast at 70-80 kmph during steep "UP"s. Most of the trains bound towards Hubli like Janashatabdi & Intercity contains WDP4 engines (since SWR headquarters is in Hubli it seems). Mysore section is deprvied of powerful engines with only Shatabdi having WDP4. Electric engines normally used starts from 3500 HP and most of the trains are attached with WAP4 which is 4000+ HP engine. There are electric engines with 7000 HP power in Indian Railways. In the existing system itself, there is some tuning needed before it can become much better after double track, after all double track takes more than 2-3 years. Double track will save 15-30 minutes. Even after double track, best coverage time for a non-stop train is 1 hour 45 minutes & not earlier than that. Currently Shatabdi which doesn't wait anywhere for crossing, best coverage with 8 compartments & WDP4 engine is 1 hour 45 mins & normal coverage is 2 hours.
tsubba's picture

thanks vasanth!

thanks vasanth for such a detailed analysis.

wrt to jolarpete prolly one more factor is that MYS-SBC line is more heavily populated. can they rectify the geometry problems? also do you know what is the design speed for the newly laid tracks?

is < 90 mins between MYS-BLR possible?

mys-mandya-ramnagara-bidadi-sbc what is the best timing possible? 

Vasanth's picture

< 90 Minutes not possible

In the current track < 90 minutes is impossible. Under optimum and ideal condition, 105 minutes is needed in the existing track. If Ups & Downs are levelled, 90 minutes may be possible under difficulty. But, < 90 minutes is not at all possible. Problem is there are lot of rivers between Bangalore & Mysore such as Arkavathi, Shimsha & mainly Cauvery. These bridges are very high & the trains have to pass at 50 km/h on these bridges. On the road, we don't have such constraints. Track is designed for 110 kmph at some stretches. Most of the places there are limitations of 70-90 since there are curves. Problem currently is, people in the towns between hold lot of protests to have the trains stopped in their town/cities. It has become very difficult to have non-stop trains. All the trains except Shatabdi has to stop in Mandya where 10 minutes -15 minutes is lost for stopping & taking pickup (Even Shatabdi was made to stop in Mandya, because of no collection stop was taken out). There are only 4 limited stop trains - Tippu & Tanjavur (Tippu stops in Mandya, Tajavur in Mandya & Maddur), 2 from each direction. affordable to common man (forget Shatabdi - 325 rupees to Mysore). Tippu usually covers in 2 hrs 30 minutes, rarely if everything is favourable 2hrs 15 mins. Tanjavur covers in 2hrs 45 mins & rarely 2 hrs 30 mins. Apart from these two, others which stops everywhere take usually around 3 hours. None of these limited stop trains are helpful for commuters who travel from Mysore to Bangalore for work since there is no Tippu / Tanjavur from Mysore early morning. Commuters have to use Pushpull Passenger which leaves Mysore at 6:00 AM & reaches Bangalore at 9:30 AM or Chamundi Express which leaves at 6:45 AM & reaches Bangalore at 10:00 AM. A limited stop train is needed from Mysore to Bangalore early in the morning to help commuters & this issue has been pending since Broad Guage train service started b/n Mysore to Bangalore.
E.R. Ramachandran's picture

Double line-Action!

Thanks you ,vasanth for enlightening comments on some of the technical challenges.INR having executed projects like Konkan Railways, hopefully is equipped to implement this project.

Now, how does one go about getting this project speeded up?

1.The Parliamentary committee which came here recently were impressed with the workshop in Mysore and also said they would recommend' Electrification' of the track simultaneously.Obviously they want this project to fructify as early as possible.

2.There is a newsitem ,  this morning,the Karnataka Govt. is thinking of calling F.M. Chidambaram for Dasara. Dasara being the biggest festival in Karnataka and particularly in Mysore, we should really try and get Mr. Laloo Yadav for the Vijayadashami at least. He is yet to visit one of the oldest, if not the oldest, Rail Museum for children.

3.Could M/s Shastry, Bhami Shenoy, GVK ,TS,Vasanth and  undersigned approach FICCI, Karnataka chamber of commerce and Karnataka Govt. and make an effort. Also rope in Mysore M.P. Vijayshankar.District Minister G.T. Devegowda?

 

4.FICCI, JSS can help in approaching Laloo for sharing Management thoughts on 'turnaround' for Management students for Mahajana, JSS.

 What do you say? If you agree, we should act quickly.

 

Vasanth's picture

What is needed for Bangalore - Mysore Railway Line

Following are the actions needed by Railways to improve. 1. To develop Mysore & Mandya as a parallel city to Bangalore, we need more number of trains for the commuters during morning hours from Mysore & evening hours from Bangalore. Currently it is the other way - There are only two trains from Mysore to Bangalore in morning & vice versa from Bangalore to Mysore in the evening. On the other hand, there are 5 trains from Bangalore to Mysore in the morning & vice versa from Mysore in the evening. These 5 trains are all extended train which basically goes to Mysore for cleaning since there is no space for cleaning in Bangalore. These trains are full of reserved compartments hardly serving any purpose. We do not want such kind of service. Railways is thinking to develop Bangalore as a parallel city to Mysore rather than the other way. 2. Plan second track by keeping in mind pitfalls of the first line. Avoid UPs & Downs & curves. Have meetings with engine drivers & regular commuters before planning rather than simply dumping a track next to the existing track. 3. Run atleast 4 / 5 trains from Mysore to Bangalore during morning hours & vice versa in evening hours. Out of this, 1 should be non-stop (of course stop with Mandya, since they donot leave trains if it is not stopped), 1 express, 1 passenger & 1-2 with limited stops (stops at Mandya/Channapatna/Ramnagar). Run 1 of them upto whitefield & 1 upto Hosur so that people travelling to IT districts can reach in trains to nearest station. 4. Double track & electrification should be done as quickly as possible. After electrification, run EMUs (Mumbai like local trains) for passenger trains which has got instant pickups instead of conventional trains. With EMUs, passenger trains can cover the distance in less than 3 hours. 5. Non-Stop / Limited Stop, Express & Passenger train in the sequence are needed to be run every 3 hours in both the directions. 6. Janashatabdi / Garib Rath is needed b/n Blore & Mysore & should be able to compete with Volvo & attract road traffic. Existing Shatabdi doesn't serve the purpose of a common man.
tsubba's picture

Track Doubling

Ajay's heads up on track doubling upto Bidadi http://www.hindu.com/2007... -------------------------------------------------------- In what could be termed as a major milestone for the development of Mysore, the track doubling work between Bangalore and Bidadi has been completed. Commuting time between the two cities is expected to be reduced by at least 20 minutes from the existing three hours, once the new line is commissioned. The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) and senior officials from the construction division of the Indian Railways are inspecting the newly-laid track between Kengeri and Bidadi, which will be completed on Saturday, following which the CRS is expected to give its recommendations. The double line track between Bangalore and Kengeri is already functional, and once the new line up to Bidadi is cleared, the commuting time between the two cities is expected to be shortened. Senior officials pointed out that the track doubling work has been approved till Mysore and will be taken up in a phased manner so as to be ready by December 2008. Completion of the project up to Bidadi, entailing a stretch of nearly 32 km, will be a milestone. “At least two to three crossings will be eliminated because of the completion of the work till Bidadi. The speed of all the trains running on the Bangalore-Bidadi stretch can be increased,” said officials. Meanwhile, sources in the South Western Railway expressed confidence that there may not be much of a delay in getting the CRS approval for throwing open the newly-laid track for traffic as the geographical terrain was plain, unlike the ghat section on the Sakleshpur –Subramanya strech, on the Hassan-Mangalore section. This could also mark a shift in the commuters’ preference of the mode of travel on the Bangalore-Mysore section. At present, bus is the popular mode of commuting. The non-stop Volvo service by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation takes about 2 hours 45 minutes. Traffic snarl But of late, the traffic congestion on the highway between Kengeri and Bangalore city, has negated the advantage of travelling by road. Even the Volvo services take close to three hours. Though the drive from Mysore to Bidadi is smooth, it becomes cumbersome and motorists encounter bumper to bumper traffic till Bangalore which makes driving a nerver-wracking experience and it takes almost 45 mintues to one hour to enter Majestic area during peak rush hour. Many people may switch over to trains as the track doubling work till Bidadi is ready. They would be able to enter Bangalore’s Majestic, within 20 minutes from Bidadi.
Vasanth's picture

25-30 minutes needed from Bidadi

As said in the news paper about 20mins to Majestic from Bidadi is not possible. 30 minutes is the normal time without any stoppings and waits between. Very occassionally, this distance is covered in 25 minutes. Trains which stops in Bidadi will take more time since there is huge gradient towards Bangalore from Bidadi and the train needs time to get the pickup on the gradient. From Kengeri itself 20 minutes is needed. Occassionally, 15 minutes.
tsubba's picture

110% utilization

Mysore-Bangalore rail track utilisation is 110 per cent
R. Krishna Kumar

The Mysore division of the Railways will put on hold any introduction of additional trains on the Mysore-Bangalore section until the track doubling work between the two cities is completed by March 2011 as scheduled.

Railway officials here say the existing section between Mysore and Bangalore is saturated and the track utilisation capacity has exceeded 110 per cent making it impossible to run additional trains.

In the event new trains are introduced, it will only backfire as the commuting time will increase due to track congestion and crossing.

Hence, railway officials aver it would be prudent if no fresh demands are made or political pressure brought to introduce additional trains till the track doubling work is completed. “We are not going to make fresh proposals for new trains on the section and will advise against any new services until the track doubling work is completed,” said a senior official of the division.

On the other hand, passengers will experience enhanced benefits of the existing services as the commuting time between Bangalore and Mysore would be curtailed by 45 minutes once the track doubling work is completed between Bidadi and Ramanagaram.

At present, work is nearing completion till Bidadi and the next phase between Bidadi and Ramanagaram is expected to be completed in due course.

On completion of the civic works, including laying of tracks, it would be subjected to inspection by the Commissioner for Rail Safety before being accorded the green signal that will make the section operational.

The Railways operates 13 pair of trains between Mysore and Bangalore and hence, there are 26 passenger or express services that ply in both the directions daily. This does not include the goods services that terminate at the Mysore Goods Shed Yard. On an average, about three or four goods trains run on the section thus taking the number of trains utilising the 139-km stretch to almost 30 which is reckoned to be high and hence the tracks are clogged.

Interestingly, the Railway Budget for 2008-09 tabled on Tuesday takes note of the saturation of tracks connecting ports and ferrying minerals and underlines that track utilisation was in excess of 100 per cent on a 20,000-km stretch across the country. But it is reckoned to be rare for a stretch with high passenger traffic and very little freight traffic — as on the Mysore-Bangalore section — to have more than 100 per cent line utilisation.

Hence, track capacity is augmented by way of doubling. The latest railway budget has also earmarked Rs. 50 crore for electrification up to Ramanagaram. Officials say electrification will, in all probability, be extended up to Mysore as it is only logical.

Meanwhile, railway officials say once the double line between Bangalore and Ramanagaram is commissioned and the route thrown open for traffic, the existing traffic congestion will ease.

A majority of trains proceeding towards Bangalore or Mysore get delayed between Channapatana and Ramanagaram and also Bidadi due to compulsory halt for a corresponding train to cross. Most of the halts at crossing points is to enable long-distance trains to neighbouring States to pass through which delays the local services during peak rush hour.

At present, it takes more than 3 hours for ordinary trains with many stops to cover a distance of 139 km between the two cities. But a non-stop express train like the Tipu Express takes about two-and-a-half hours to cover the distance. But with the completion of the Bangalore-Ramanagaram stretch, the commuting time between Mysore and Bangalore will be down to less than two hours by non-stop trains and about 2 hours and 20 minutes by ordinary passenger trains.
Vasanth's picture

110% utilization even with people switching to road from Train

Most of the middle,upper middle class and rich have already switched over to road. Only the poor , lower middle class, railway passholders and the daily commuters travel in train between the two cities.  Problem is lot of trains are introduced, but are introduced only for counting purpose. Trains are extended from Bangalore to Mysore for cleaning purpose. From Bangalore to Mysore, people are allowed to sit in reserved compartments , but, it would be very unclean. From Mysore towards Bangalore, most of the compartments are reserved and normal ticket holders are allowed at extra cost in vacant seats. These long running trains with sleeper class reserved coaches,   ticket is 45 rupees and reservation fees is 72 rupees.

These extended trains has to come from other cities which are usually not on time. Railways claim two Major cities are now connected by Rail such as after introducing Jaipur _ Mysore express they claimed, two palace cities are connected.Internally they do so for their convenience. How often a passenger from Mysore travel to Ajmer / Jaipur.

What is needed is a Non-Stop Train, followed by Express, followed by a passenger train repeating every 3 hours from each direction. During morning and evening 2 more trains probably going to outstations should add on to this in each direction (5 trains during morning and evening). A Janshatabdi running as non-stop from one direction and Tippu running as non-stop from other direction will best serve normal Bangalore-Mysore passengers. 2 hours for Non-Stop, 2hrs 30 mins for Express and 3hrs 15 mins for passenger is the time in which the trains can cover the distance if the track is fully doubled and which was the case when the broad gauge service between two cities was started with less number of trains.

tsubba's picture

utlization.

i didnot occur to me to separate track utilization from pax utilization. yeah that is exactly the question, what is the estimated passenger movement between blr-mys and how much of it are the trains carrying? good point man. that is why they tell that story about statistics and lies. if they can do 30 trains on a single track, tey should be able to do 72 on double tracks easily. thats is what? 20 minutes time buffer?

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