The Railways is set to spend Rs 1,000 crore to provide a direct link between Shivamogga and Ranebennur by building a new line via Shikaripura, a project said to have been taken up due to the demand by former chief minister B S Yediyurappa.
The South Western Railway (SWR) has prepared a detailed project report for the 90-km line, which will require 1,431.29 acres of land, including forest land.
The project is estimated to cost Rs 994 crore, of which the state government will share 50%, besides providing land free of cost.
SWR chief signal and telecom engineer E Vijaya, also the incharge spokesperson, told DH that the project will be taken up in two phases.
The Kote Ganguru-Shikaripura section will be taken up in the first phase, while the work on the Shikaripura-Ranebennur section will be taken up in the second.
“Phase 1 requires a total of 616 acres, of which final notification has been issued for acquiring 500 acres in 27 villages. For phase 2, 815 acres in 27 villages are required, for which the Railways has proposed land acquisition between October 2019 and June 2020,” she said.
As many as 22 major bridges, 62 road under bridges, 20 road over bridges and 48 minor bridges will be constructed for the railway line.
They, however, are yet to fix a deadline for the project. A source told DH that deadlines are fixed only after land acquisition is completed.
“Construction of a railway line can take about two years. However, if major bridges are involved, the period may extend by another year and a half,” the source said.
The railway line will have 12 stations, including the existing Shivamogga Town and Ranebennur.
Check out latest DH videos here