The expansion of the Ashokapuram railway station will be completed in due course and it will be commissioned in August.
The work entails adding two new stabling lines, two pit line and two additional platforms which will augment the capacity of the station to handle more traffic. A direct fallout will be the decongestion of the Mysuru railway station which handles more than 36 pairs of trains daily and is choked.
Mysuru MP Pratap Simha and Krishnaraja MLA T.S. Srivatsa were apprised of the work in progress by senior railway officials led by Divisional Engineer (Coordination) Ravichandran. He said the cost of the project was ₹30 crore of which ₹23 crore had been spent and the second entrance to the station from Jayanagar side was being constructed.
Mr. Simha said once completed Ashokapuram railway station would have five platforms of which two could be used to handle up and down trains from Nanjangud and Chamarajanagar and the remaining three platforms could be used for operating long-distance trains from Ashokapuram and Mysuru to other destinations.
He said a meeting would be convened to ascertain the feasibility of extending some of the trains that terminated at Mysuru, till Ashokapuram. This would not only help decongest Mysuru station but would be beneficial to a large number of passengers from Srirampura, Ashokapuram, Jayanagar and surrounding areas.
“’We are seeking the extension of the Mumbai-Bengaluru Udyan Express till Mysuru but there is opposition from stakeholders in Bengaluru on the grounds that their quota will be usurped by Mysuru. But the fears are misplaced as Mysuru has its own quota on the train and if need be an additional coach can be attached,” said Mr. Simha.
On the expansion of the Mysuru main station, the MP said that tenders had been floated for overhauling and remodelling the main station which would have additional three platforms and four pit lines. Additional inter-city passenger services would be proposed once the capacity augmentation of the existing stations was completed.
Besides, there is a proposal to flatten the curves along the Mysuru-Bengaluru route. There are about 150 curves of various degrees on the route which reduces the maximum permissible speed. Works are in the pipeline to reduce the track curvature so as to enable the trains to move at a higher speed, according to Railway officials.
At present, the maximum permissible speed on the Mysuru-Bengaluru stretch was 110 kmph and if the curves were reduced or flattened the maximum permissible speed could be increased to 130 kmph, officials added.
