BENGALURU: After overcoming fund crunch and land availability issues, the first stretch of the Rayadurga-Tumakuru New Line project running into 40km is all set to be commissioned on Friday. This is a vital move towards linking the industrial town of Tumakuru with the industrial town of Ballari.
This stretch, completed at a cost of nearly `330 crore by the Constructions Division of the South Western Railway Zone, will cover three stations -- Rayadurga, Avuladatla and Kalyanadurga. It has six road over bridges and 16 road under bridges, said top officials of the Construction Division of South Western Railway.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will declare the line open through a video conference from New Delhi.
The `1,714.5 crore Rayadurga-Tumakuru Railway Line Project running into 207km was proposed in the 2007-08 Railway Budget. “There were no funds available with the Railways then and acquiring land too was a big issue. Hence, no steps were taken towards beginning the project,” said a top official. Finally, work commenced in 2011 after funds were allocated.
The project will cover 113km in Karnataka and 94km in Andhra Pradesh and will come under the Hubballi Railway Division of SWR zone. “It will be handed over to the Bangalore Railway Division after the work is complete,” the official added.
“When the project is complete, it will be a huge relief for people in Tumakuru district and Anantpur district,” a source said. It will also help in connecting many smaller towns en route. The existing route between AP and Karnataka is via Guntakal.
The total land required from Andhra Pradesh is 810 acres and the government has handed over 630 acres so far. The land required in Karnataka is 1,185 acres and the government has handed over just 152 acres. The cost will be shared by the Railways (`857.25 crore), AP (`390.17 crore) and Karnataka (`467.08 crore). Another 23km between Kalyanadurga and Kadiridevarapali is targeted for commissioning by March 2017, the source said. A deadline for the completion of the entire project can’t be specified as more land needs to be acquired, he added.