Bengaluru: The long standing demand for faster rail connectivity between Bengaluru and Mysuru will be closer to reality once the Commissioner of Rail Safety inspects the doubling work on Monday.
However, the commuters might have to wait till January to benefit from timely arrival and departure of trains, as the stabling yard at the City railway station is not ready yet. Now, trains from Mysuru halt at Kengeri and other stations en route to Bengaluru, to wait for vacant platforms at the congested Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna station.
The Railways in 2013 acquired 3.3 acres of Binny Mill land near KSR station to build a separate stabling yard for trains. This project is yet to be completed.
"Majority of the trains halt and originate at City station. Due to lack of a dedicated stabling yard, the Railways ends up using the tracks between platforms to park trains or change the engine. Two tracks get taken up for that, blocking the arrival and departure of other trains," said Sanjeev Dyamnavar, a rail expert.
He suggested that 3 to 4 pit lines can be added at Binny Mill and the alignment must use maximum length for stabling.
South Western Railway Chief PRO Vijaya said, "A road under bridge and rail over bridge is being built to connect the trains from KSR to Binny Mill. This will make our operations faster. The shunting yard will be ready by Jan-end"
With 80% of trains halting and leaving from City Railway station, track space and time is taken up for engine reversal of rakes, arrival and departure of trains on Bengaluru-Mysuru route, she admitted, claiming the shunting yard project is delayed due to traffic on the road.
"The services tend to get delayed by a few minutes due to lack of stabling lines. Once the shunting yard is ready, the stabling of trains and commercial operations can happen simultaneously, thereby ensuring timely running of trains,” she explained.
