SHIVAMOGGA: Union Minister of State for Railways V Somanna on Monday said the railway projects meant for Malnad and coastal Karnataka regions will be taken up on priority, besides the work on the development of infrastructure.
Somanna held a progress review meeting of the railway development projects in Shivamogga parliamentary constituency on Monday. He said he has reviewed the status of the ongoing projects, infrastructure development work and the facilities provided to the passengers. He said the projects are being implemented keeping in view the projected development for the next 25-30 years.
He added that the ongoing work on Koteganguru coaching depot is almost complete, and it will be operational by February of March 2027. He said the department will cancel the work assigned to a previous contractor in Shimoga–Shikaripur–Ranebennur railway project, and he will be blacklisted. A new tender will be invited for the project in the next two months and the work will be expedited.
Somanna said the survey for the doubling of Shivamogga–Birur railway line is underway. The proposal for the new Sringeri–Tirthahalli–Shivamogga railway route is under consideration. The Centre is giving impetus to new railway projects, including the extension of railway lines and the demand for the development of infrastructure facilities and train connectivity in Mangaluru, Shivamogga and Udupi regions. The survey for the Shivamogga-Sringeri-Mangaluru railway route, which was sanctioned in 2018, has reached the final stage, he said.
The work on the 178km Talaguppa–Siddapura–Sirsi–Mundagoda–Hubballi South route will be taken up soon. The new Talaguppa–Honnavara line was sanctioned in 2025. A survey for the 173km Bhadravathi–Chennagiri–Chikkajajuru route is already approved and it will begin soon, Somanna said.
Directions have been issued to begin the survey work for the Chikkamagaluru–Sringeri, Hubballi–Ankola, Shivamogga–Tirthahalli–Sringeri railwayline. The department also plans to upgrade the Tumakuru and Shivamogga railway stations with many facilities at a cost of Rs 100 crore and Rs 50 crore, respectively, he said.
The newly upgraded railway stations of Sagara and Talaguppa will be inaugurated soon. The Bhadravathi railway station will also be developed as it was done in Shivamogga, Somanna said.
Somanna said the Union government has taken a historic decision for the development of the railway sector in the state by sanctioning Rs 9,000 crore for the ongoing development works of Konkan Railway and taking up several other projects that had been pending for decades. At present around Rs 52,000 crore railway work is under progress in the state, and not even a single rupee was being contributed by the state government, he said.