Lok Sabha Question No. 227 (STARRED), answered on 2024-12-11
Subject: High Capacity Rail Line between Mangalore and Bangalore
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Captain Brijesh Chowta

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 227 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2024

## HIGH CAPACITY RAIL LINE BETWEEN MANGALORE AND BANGALORE

- *227.     SHRI CAPTAIN BRIJESH CHOWTA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS  be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has any plans to establish a dedicated  high  capacity  rail  line  between  Mangalore  and Bangalore to improve passenger and freight connectivity;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  of  the  proposed  project  including  feasibility studies, timelines and budgetary allocations;
- (c) whether the  Government has identified  the  challenges  in  the existing  railway  route  between  the  two  cities  including  the speed and capacity limitations and if so, the steps being taken to address them; and
- (d) the  benefits  of  the  said  railway  line  for  trade,  tourism  and regional development?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF  LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 227 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2024.

(a)  to  (d):  Railway  projects  are  surveyed/  sanctioned/executed  Zonal Railway wise and not State-wise as the Railway projects may span across State  boundaries.  Railway  projects  are  sanctioned  on  the  basis  of remunerativeness, traffic projections, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, demands  raised  by  State  Governments,  Central  Ministries,  Members  of Parliament, other public representatives, Railway's own  operational requirement, socio-economic considerations including trade and tourism etc. depending  upon  throwforward  of  ongoing  projects  and overall availability of funds.

Railway infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of Karnataka are covered by South Western Railway (SWR), Central Railway (CR),  Southern  Railway  (SR)  and  South  Central  Railway  (SCR)  Zones  of Indian Railways. Zonal Railway wise details of Railway projects including cost,  expenditure  and  outlay  are  made  available  in  public  domain  on Indian Railway's website.

Mangaluru is already connected with Bengaluru via Sharavanbelagola and also  via  Arsikere  and  Hassan.  The  Broad  gauge  single  line  section between Hassan - Mangaluru (183 Km) which is a part of Mangaluru to Bengaluru was commissioned in 2006 by converting earlier Meter Gauge into Broad Gauge section through a SPV with major share of Government of Karnataka. This section crosses western ghats and has sharp curves and gradients. This line is a vital link and connects  Mangalore port to the

hinterland of Karnataka. Due to poor financial health of SPV, Ministry of Railways has proposed to takeover this line so that capacity augmentation  works  such  as  doubling,  electrification  etc  can  be  taken up.

Accordingly, a Final Location Survey (FLS) of doubling between Bengaluru and  Mangaluru  has  been  sanctioned  in  two  parts  viz.  (i)  Mangaluru  Hassan (247 Km) and (ii) Hassan - Chickbanavara  (Bengaluru) via Kunigal (166  Km).      Further,  a  survey  for  3 rd   &  4 th   line  between  Bengaluru  Tumakuru (30 Km) has also been sanctioned.

Survey of total 56 projects (19 new line and 37 doubling) of total length 6159  Km  falling fully/partly in the State of  Karnataka  have  been sanctioned  during  last  three  years  (2021-22,  2022-23,    2023-24  and current financial year 2024-25).

As  on  01.04.2024,  31  projects  (21  new  lines,  and  10  Doubling)  of  total length of 3,840 Km, costing ₹47,016 crore, falling fully/partly in the State of Karnataka, are at various stages of planning and implementation, out of which 1,302 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹17,383  crore  has  been  incurred  upto  March,  2024.  The  summary  is  as under:-

| Category                |   No. of projects |   Total Length (in Km) |   Length Commissioned (in Km) |   Expenditure upto March 2024 (₹ in Cr.) |
|-------------------------|-------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| New Line                |                21 |                   2556 |                           395 |                                     7592 |
| Doubling/ Multitracking |                10 |                   1284 |                           907 |                                     9791 |
| Total                   |                31 |                   3840 |                          1302 |                                    17383 |

Budget  allocation  for  Infrastructure  projects  and  safety  works,  falling fully/partly in Karnataka is as under:

| Period   | Outlay                            |
|----------|-----------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹835 crore/year                   |
| 2024-25  | ₹7,559 crore ( more than 9 times) |

The details of commissioning/laying of new track falling fully/partly in the State of Karnataka during 2009-14 and 2014-24 is as under:

| Period   | Total Track Commissioned   | Average Track Commissioned   |
|----------|----------------------------|------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 565 Km                     | 113 Km/Year                  |
| 2014-24  | 1,633 Km                   | 163 Km/Year                  |

The  completion  of  any  Railway  project  depends  on  various  factors  like quick land acquisition by State Government, forest clearance by officials of  forest  department,  deposition  of  cost  share  by  State  Government  in cost  sharing  projects,  priority  of  projects,  shifting  of  infringing  utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project(s) site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climate conditions etc.

Benefits  of  Railway  projects  in  the  State  of  Karnataka  include  faster movement of  the  essential  goods  and  agriculture  products,  increase  in employment opportunities for the people of this region, Socio-economic development of the area, development of tourism industry and increase in industrial activities in the region.

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