Mysuru MP Pratap Simha reviews railway projects under Gati Shakti 

Details of Gati Shakti Railway meeting held on 28 June 2023 at the DRM Mysuru office under the chairmanship of MP Shri Pratap Simha.

Status of Remodelling and Development of Ashokapuram Railway Station

Ashokapuram yard remodelling has been commissioned on 27th April 2023 while the tentative date for commissioning the additional works related to platforms and foot over bridge has been fixed to 8th August 2023. Yard remodelling was taken up with Rs.15.17 crores and the additional works are under construction worth Rs.13.9 crores.  

Status of Remodelling and Development of Mysuru Railway Station

Notice inviting tender under EPC was issued on 24th April 2023 for Rs 346 crores. Pre bidding meeting was held on 19th May 2023 and three agencies participated.

Bidding process will start on 9th August 2023 and close on 23rd August 2023. 

Tender is expected to be opened on 30th August 2023. LoA is already issued for the Shifting of cables and works are in progress.

The Yard Remodelling involves Three Passenger Lines(Platforms), Four stabling lines, Four Pit Lines and one shunting neck. 

Activities involved in the Remodelling & Redevelopment of MYS

• Dismantling of Nine Quarters and Kalyanmantap at VR Colony.
• Construction of Quarters at (VRC T-II : 188 units; T-III : 144 units. T-IV : 16 units).
• Shifting of Quarters from Loco Colony to VRC.
• Dismantling of Quarters at Loco Colony.
• Yard remodelling work duly taking up construction of Offices; Platform; earthwork; track linking; etc.
• Construction of Service Buildings; Stadium; Kalyanmantap.

Remodeling of Naganahalli Railway Station

The remodeling of Naganahalli will cater to MEMU train maintenance. The notice inviting tender for remodeling is yet to be called. Land acquisition for the required 8 acres is in progress. 

The Yard Remodeling involves One Passenger Lines(Platforms), One stabling lines and One covered  Pit Line

Techno – economic study for redevelopment of Mysuru Station

LoA for the Techno – economic study  is issued and the work is in progress. 

Presentations by the design agency were made in February, May and June of 2023 and during the last meeting i.e. on 15.06.23 changes like underground parking, elevation etc. were discussed. Tentative date for completing the study is July 2023 

During the meeting, the MP recommended the third entrance to sport a modern facade with the provision of property development while the main heritage entrance shall be left as such & the second entrance be made more attractive. 

The third entrance shall come up near Vani Vilas Water works on the Princes road (KRS Road). As a result of the Techno – economic study,  the works are expected to cost around Rs 200 crores to 350 crores. The DPR is expected to be completed in two months, after which the Tender for executing the project will be called.

Statue of Shri Chamaraja Wadiyar

The MP urged the railways to plan a Statue of Shri Chamaraja Wodeyar at the proposed third entrance as a tribute to the glorious contributions of Shri Chamaraja Wodeyar in developing railways in the princely Mysore Kingdom.

He stated that the Mysuru Railway Station will be named after Shri Chamaraja Wodeyar. 

Status of the Mysuru Khushalnagara New Railway Line

The 87 KM Mysuru Kushalnagara new railway line was sanctioned in 2028-19 at an original sanctioned cost of Rs 1854.62 crores. Tender has been awarded for the Final Location Survey(FLS) on 18th June 2022. Field survey work and soil investigations have been completed. Alignment and Gradient is under finalisation duly avoiding Forest Land with MPS potential of 160 KMPH. The tentative date for submitting the Detailed Project report (DPR) to the Railway Board is fixed to 15th September 2023.

The Nine stations are proposed at Belagola (Exg), Elivala, Bilikere, Uddur, Hunsur, Satyagola, Priyapatna, Doddahonnur and Kushalnagar. 

The total land requirement is 558.28 Ha out of which Private land is 522.8 Ha, Govt land is 4.96 Ha, Built up land is 27.52Ha and the Forest Land is Nil. 

Developing Crossing line at Kavalande/KVE Halt Railway Station

To ensure efficient operations between Nanjangud and Chamarajanagar, it was suggested to upgrade KVE as a crossing station. (Which means splitting the existing single Nanjangud/NTW – Chamarajanagar/CMNR block section into two)

Development of  Chamarajanagar Railway Station(CMNR)

Development of Stabling lines and Coach watering facilities at CMNR was highlighted considering the fact Mysuru- Kadakola- Chamarajnagara has attracted a lot of industrial investments in recent times, so the introduction of more trains will further catalyse the economic activities. Railways has adequate land at its disposal at CMNR for developing the above facilities.

Change in alignment on the Mysuru – Chamarajanagar section to operate trains at safe distance from Mysore Airport

As the MYS-CMNR railway line passes close to the airport runway, AAI has not accorded the NOC to install OHE.  So as a way forward, the MP suggested realigning the railway stretch at a safe operating distance from the airport boundary.

Doubling of Mysuru – Ashokapuram – Chamarajanagar Section

With the Ashokpuram station undergoing yard remodeling and thus emerging as the second important station for Mysuru city, the need to double the track was discussed. The MP expressed his strong support to the proposal.

Trains Speeding up & Revision in Timings proposed

• Change of Terminal proposed for all the existing MEMU trains, Kaveri, Malgudi and Chennai intercity express from Mysuru junction to Ashokapuram station.  
• Upgradation of Kaveri, Kacheguda and Chennai intercity express trains to superfast category by speeding them up.
• Speeding up and revision in timings of Chennai intercity, Chamundi, Vishwamanava, Tirupati, Hampi, Ajmer, Talaguppa, Kacheguda, Golgumbaz expresses.

Other points discussed during the meeting

• Indian Railways shall take all steps to improve the Maximum Permissible Speed (MPS) on Mysuru-Bengaluru, Mysuru-Chamrajanagar and Mysore-Hassan Sections.
• Naming of Train No. 12609/10 Mysuru Chennai Express as “Nandi Express”.
• Providing connectivity between Mysuru and Karwar, Vasco, OKHA, Rameshwaram, Pune and Mumbai
• For all superfast trains, Railways shall restrict the travel time between Mysuru & Kengeri to 1 hour 50 minutes so as to remain competitive given that the KSRTC electric buses currently take 1 hour 45 minutes to cover the distance between Mysuru & Kengeri.
• Also urged to provide stoppage at Srirangapatana Railway Station for few Express trains

Shilpi Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, T.V. Bhushan, Chief Project Manager, Gati Shakti, E. Vijaya, ADRM, Vinayak ADRM, Ravichandran, Sr Divisional Engineer (Coordination), Guddan, Dy Chief Engineer, Construction wing, Sr Divisional Operating Manager and others were present.