Bengaluru-Mysuru double rail line opened for traffic

Project was delayed as armoury of 18th century ruler Tipu Sultan had to be moved

The 138km double railway line between Bengaluru and Mysuru in southern Karnataka was opened for traffic, an official said.

“Completion of the 1.7km stretch at Srirangapatna has enabled us to open the 138.3km double line between Bengaluru and Mysore for operating express, passenger and goods trains on the route in the state’s southern region,” an official of the South Western Railway (SWR) told IANS.

The doubling project got delayed and took 10 years to complete, as the railways had to shift the armoury of the 18th century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan, located on the 1.7km stretch near the Kaveri bridge at Srirangapatna.

“The archaeological protected monument (armoury) was translocated by the USbased Wolfe House Building Movers in March,” recalled the official.

The Commissioner of Railway Safety inspected the 1.7km stretch of the double track on November 6 and authorised the SWR to operate the service.

Delay escalated cost

The delay also escalated the cost to Rs9.9 billion (Dh561 million) or Rs72 million per kilometre though the state government shared it as its contribution.

Efforts are also on to electrify the entire route for reducing running time between the state’s official capital and its cultural capital by at least an hour from average three hours currently.