BENGALURU: Continuing the emphasis on passenger amenities, the budgetary allocation for the South Western Railway Zone is Rs 961.22 crore in the Union budget 2024-2025. An allocation of Rs 1,448.91 crore for new lines and Rs 1,241 crore for doubling has been earmarked out of the total outlay of Rs 6,493.87 crore announced for the Zone in the budget presented last month.
Four doubling projects in Bengaluru Division and one quadrupling project are among those that have received allocations. The Pink Book (detailed document on allocations for various zones and projects), released on Saturday (Aug 17) highlighted the individual allocations for different projects.
An official release from SWR said, “ Rs 961.22 crore has been allocated to ensure uninterrupted high quality service to passengers.” Of the four doubling projects in Bengaluru Division, Baiyappanahalli-Hosur has received Rs 200 cr, Yesvantpur-Channasandra and Penukonda-Dharmavaram have received Rs 100 cr each, while Arsikere-Tumakuru has received Rs 20 crore. The quadrupling project between Bengaluru Cantonment and Whitefield has received Rs 200 crore, the release said.
“For safety works across SWR like the Road Over Bridge and Road Under Bridge projects, Rs 329.40cr has been allocated. They will be funded 100% by the Railways to expedite future works,” the release said. The allocation for traffic facilities works is Rs 145.84 crore, it added. The allocation for traffic facilities works is Rs 145.84 crore, it added.