SWR gets highest ever outlay in the budget, new line projects get Rs 2,423 crore

• The emphasis is on Connecting the Unconnected: the allocation for New Lines has gone up by 336% as compared to last year

• Last year, SWR got the highest-ever capital outlay. This year’s Budget exceeds the total outlay for SWR is Rs. 9200 crores as against Rs. 6900 crores which is 33.3 % increase

• The focus is on enhancing passenger comfort, the outlay for customer amenities has been enhanced by 130% from 137.94 crores last year to Rs. 316.9 crores this year

Hubballi: In the budget 2023-24, the South Western Railway has got highest ever outlay, in the current budget the outlay for SWR stands at Rs 7,850 crore (Excluding allocation for BSRP – ie Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project). The total outlay is Rs. 9200 crores for SWR. The allocation for the state of Karnataka is Rs. 7,561 crores, said SWR officials.

They said, there has been a consistent increase in the average annual budget outlay for Railways in Karnataka. Between 2009-14 the average annual outlay was Rs. 835 crores. Between 2014 – 2022 the same was Rs. 3424 crores.

In Budget 2023-24, the highest-ever capital allocation of Rs. 2.4 lakh crores has been made for the Ministry of Railways. Immense thrust is given for the development of infrastructure, modernization of stations and trains, enhancement of connectivity, safety and comfort for the passengers, they said.

Continuing the emphasis on enhancing infrastructure to provide connectivity, an allocation of Rs. 2423 crores for New Line, Rs. 1529 crores for Doubling have been made. Further, in order to connect the hitherto unconnected towns/cities with a population of 50,000 or above, a sanction of Rs. 60,000 crores have been made with an outlay of Rs.1 Crore in the present budget. This will help in the speedy execution of viable new line projects, which will result in enhancing connectivity and promoting trade and commerce in smaller towns.

51 stations will be redeveloped

Under Amrit Bharat Scheme, 52 stations in SWR will be taken up for redevelopment. Amrit Bharat scheme is a policy for major upgradation of stations with an objective to improve the ease of movement of passengers and integration of stations with surrounding areas.

The architectural planning would be given due importance to improve the overall look of the stations. Emphasis would be on the upgradation of station buildings as iconic structures with modern state-of-the-art facilities and futuristic design, with entry from both sides, ease of access to passengers, roof plaza etc. The upgraded stations will focus on sustainability and stations would emerge as ‘city – centres’ with amenities for leisure, infotainment, business, retail outlets etc. Pan-India Rs 30,000 crores have been set aside for this purpose.

ALLOCATION FOR NEW LINE PROJECTS

Sl No    Name of the project                                       Cost in Rs. crores

1          Gadag (Talkal) – Wadi                                         350 (150 through GoK)

2           Ginigera – Raichur                                              300

3          Tumakuru – Davangere (Via Chitradurga)              420.85 (GoK 200)

4          Tumakuru – Rayadurga (Via Kalyandurga)             350

5          Bagalkot – Kudachi                                              360 (GoK 150)

6          Shivamogga – Shikaripura – Ranebennur               150

7          Belagavi – Dharwad (Via Kittur)                            10

8          Marikuppam – Kuppam                                         200

9          Kadur – Chikkamagaluru – Hassan                         145

10        Malagur – Palasamudram                                       20

ALLOCATION FOR DOUBLING PROJECTS

Sl No                Name of the project                Cost in Rs. crores

1                      Gadag – Hotgi                                      170

2                      Penukonda – Dharmavaram                   120

3                      Baiyappanahalli – Hosur                        100

4                      Yesvantpur – Channasandra                   85

5                      Londa – Miraj                                       200

6                      Hubballi – Chikjajur                              150

7                      Bengaluru Cantt – Whitefield Quadrupling 250

8                      Hosapete – Tinaighat – Vasco da Gama  400

 

For the Railway Electrification in SWR, Rs. 793.3 crores have been allocated in this budget. SWR has completed 2243 route km so far which is more than 60% of the entire network.

ALLOCATION FOR ELECTRIFICATION PROJECTS

Sl No    Name of the project                Cost in Rs. crores

1          Gadag – Hotgi                                      110

2          Chikbanavar – Hubballi                         128

5          Birur – Talguppa                                  56

6          Hassan – Mangaluru                             134

7          Miraj – Londa                                       182

8          Hosapete – Hubballi – Vasco da Gama    20

9          Chikbanavar – Hassan                          77

For safety works, i.e. Road Over Bridge and Road Under Bridge works, Rs. 242 crores have been allocated. The policy with regard to ROB has been revised. To improve the faster execution of the work all future works will be 100% funded either by Railway or state government based on priority. The allocation for traffic facilities works is Rs. 100 crores.

Rs. 10 crores have been allocated for carrying out the survey of 44 New Line Projects

General Manager Sanjeev Kishore has stated that there has been an unprecedented infusion of capital. In the era of Amrit Kaal, this will go a long way in improving railway infrastructure, thereby enhancing connectivity in SWR.

The Hubli Express is on WhatsApp now, you can join the WhatsApp group by clicking the link >>>>>  https://chat.whatsapp.com/Hrmohnx3bkrEJRIv9kQsyD  >>>>>>> You can follow us on Facebook @HubliExpress