Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament that doubling works on the Yeshwantpur and Hubballi sections of railway lines will be taken up in patches.
Chikkajajur-Arsikere and Tumakuru-Yeshwantpur sections are already commissioned. Balancing of the doubling of Hubballi-Chikkajajur and Arsikere-Tumakuru sections have been taken up in patches, the minister said, replying to a query raised by Narayana K.
The total cost of the Hubballi-Chikkajajur is Rs 1,804 crore, of which Rs 1,165 crore has been spent. An outlay of Rs 336 crore has been provided for the project for 2021-22 and a 95-kilometre section has been commissioned. Work on the balancing section has been taken up, he said.
For Arasikere-Tumakuru doubling works, a Rs 648-crore work on 74 kilometres has been commissioned. Works have been taken up for balancing 22 kilometres from Nittur to Banasandra, the minister said.
The minister said that electrification of the Yeshwantpur-Chikkabanavara-Tumkur section has also been commissioned. On the balance section, works were at different stages, he said.
To another question, the minister said there was no proposal to introduce MEMU trains on the Tumakuru-Yeshwantpur section. The minister also said that the railways has taken up doubling work on the Yalahanka-Dharmavaram-Gooty section in three patches.
Of the 123 kilometres of Yalahanka-Penukonda doubling proposal, a total of 72 kilometres from Yelahanka-Devarapalle has been commissioned.
In the Penukonda-Dharmavaram section, doubling work on the 42-kilometre line is under way, while in the Dharmavaram-Gooty section, doubling work has been commissioned for 57 kilometres and works are ongoing in the balance section.
The completion of railway projects depends on various factors like speedy land acquisition, forest clearance, shifting of utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, and geological and topographical conditions of that area, the minister said.
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