Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had informed the Lok Sabha that there was one block section of about 19 km between Yadakumari and Shiribagilu stations on the Subrahmanya Road-Sakleshpur Ghat section of Mangaluru-Hassan line.
| Photo Credit: ANIL KUMAR SASTRY
Only 14-coach trains can cross at Shiribagilu Railway Station on the Subrahmanya Road-Sakleshpur Ghat section of Mangaluru-Hassan line under the South Western Railway.
| Photo Credit:
ANIL KUMAR SASTRY
Notwithstanding Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s statement in the Lok Sabha during the Winter Parliament session that the South Western Railway (SWR) has undertaken feasibility study for providing a crossing station at Arebetta on Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road Ghat section of Hassan-Mangaluru line, the SWR has said feasibility for capacity augmentation at Arebetta was under examination.
Responding to a query under the Right to Information Act (RTI) in this regard, SWR’s Mysuru Division further said, “However, final location survey for Hassan-Mangaluru doubling with new alignment between Sakleshpur and Subrahmanya Road (SBHR) is being carried by the SWR’s construction organisation.” As of now, no sanction was available for Arebetta Crossing Station and infrastructure upgradation, SWR told applicant Prathvi G. Kunder from Kundapura.
Reacting to SWR’s reply to his RTI query, Mr. Kunder said construction of the new line might take years and wondered whether the SWR would continue to wait till then without providing a crossing station at Arebetta.
19 km block section
Answering a question from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Kota Srinivas Poojary on Railway Electrification of Hassan-Mangaluru line, Mr. Vaishnaw had on December 11 said feasibility study for a crossing station at Arebetta, between Yadakumari and Shiribagilu stations, was underway. He had said there was just one block section of about 19 km between Yadakumari and Shiribagilu stations. The SWR had commissioned the study to increase the train handling capacity of the ghat section.
On the 55 km ghat stretch, trains with 21 coaches could cross at Donigal, Kadagaravalli and Yadakumari stations while a 14 coach train could cross at Shiribagilu. Mr. Poojary and Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta had been demanding more crossing stations on the ghat section, including Arebetta, to increase train handling capacity.
Letter to Vaishnaw
Taking strong exception to SWR not initiating any concrete steps on the crossing station despite the assurance by the Minister, Mr. Poojary wrote to Mr. Vaishnaw on February 7 urging him to instruct the zone to expedite upgrading Arebetta as a crossing station without waiting for the new line, which might take several years to get completed.
He said the significant demand for coaching and freight trains on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru sector was not being addressed because of the bottleneck in the ghat section that has long block sections. A crossing station at Arebetta, along with reduction in the block section length, would significantly improve sectional capacity accommodate coaching and freight trains to meet the growing demand.
Published – February 10, 2025 07:53 pm IST