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Bengaluru station now Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Station

Railway Ministry looking at semi high speeed trains' to Mysuru and Hubballi.

Bengaluru: Bangalore City Railway Station is now Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Station, named after the head of the army in the princely state of Kittur, ruled by Rani Chennamma, who fought against the British.

The inauguration was performed by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, MP PC Mohan and MP Ananth Kumar at Railway INstitute Ground, Okalipuram, on Sunday morning.

The Railways Minister announced that a joint venture company, in partnership with the Karnataka government, will take up new projects in three months' time. "The state will acquire some equity, we will take some and leverage it by pooling in extra budgetary resources," he said.

These resources will not come under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act of Karnataka. The idea, explained Kumar, is to create infrastructure for the state at an accelerated pace. "We will operationalise the company in the next three months, so work can begin," he said.

Kumar also promised that the doubling of the Mysuru-Bengaluru line will be completed in the next six months, with the 156-km Bengaluru-Hassan line to be finished by the end of the year. He clarified that the ministry is looking at “semi high speed railways” for the Bengaluru-Mysuru and Hubbali-Bengaluru lines.

He added that Rs 7000 crore has been invested in Karnataka in the last three years. Although he remained tight-lipped about the Suburban Rail, the demand for which has increased greatly over the last couple of years, he did say that he is currently seeking the ministry's support for the project.

MP PC Mohan requested the Railways minister to take steps to form a Special Purpose Vehicle for the implementation of suburban rail as soon as possible.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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