According to South Western Railway (SWR), Karnataka has been allocated ₹7,559 crore for railway projects in the Union budget for 2024-25, which it said is a nine-fold increase compared to the average budget grant of ₹835 crore from 2009-14.
In addition, SWR stated that the Union Budget, presented on July 23, allots ₹2.62 lakh crore for Indian Railways in FY2024-25. Out of this budget, ₹1,09,000 crore was set aside for safety-related measures across the Indian Railways network.
“Karnataka is also implementing 31 railway projects spread over a length of 3,840 km with an outlay of Rs.47016 crores,” added SWR General Manager Aravind Srivastav. “Karnataka has witnessed construction of 638 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and Road Under Bridges (RUBs), enhancing road safety for commuters during last decade,” he added.
State’s railway infrastructure has seen some improvements whereby new line construction averages have gone up to 163 kms p.a. in the period between year 2014 and year 2024 which is also about fourteen percent higher compared to its previous decade. “Besides that, the mean rate of electrification increased significantly from 18 km per annum between years 2009 and 2014 to 317 kilometers per year over last ten years,” he added.
Under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme Karnataka has listed down fifty-nine stations whose redevelopment will see them transform into world-class facilities.
46 stations are being redeveloped withing SWR zone at a cost of ₹1,103 crore inclusive major upgrades Yesvantpur and Bengaluru Cantonment stations. While Yesvantpur station redevelopment has an estimated cost of ₹367 crore and is expected to end by July 2025; Bengaluru cantonment station is anticipated to be completed by October 2025 and at a cost of ₹484 crore.
SWR has reported that currently it has achieved 88% route electrification, and its target is to have 100% electrification before March 2025.
