Why is the Whitefield-Kolar-Mulbagal-Chittoor Railway Line Important?


There are several reasons why this line is needed:

·         Kolar, despite being a district headquarters, has no proper rail link to Bangalore and is forced to rely on Bangarpet.


The Bangalore-Kolar stretch is a heavily industrialized one with industrial areas located at Whitefield, Hoskote (Pillagumpe), Tavarekere (Volvo), Narsapur, and Tamaka. As per an update from Mr. Muniswamy, Honorable MP, Kolar Parliamentary Constituency, KIADB has proposed to set up an industrial area at Devarayasamudra in Mulbagal Taluk. Kolar is practically an industrial suburb of Bangalore and hence deserves to be a part of the suburban rail map.

 

 

·         The Bangalore-Chennai expressway is going to bring about a lot more development in the Kolar district, which would reach greater heights once the proposed industrial area at Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) becomes operational. These developments are likely to increase the movement of people between KGF & Bangalore, resulting in greater congestion of the already-congested trains.

 

·         Karnataka’s #BeyondBengaluru campaign to develop other cities of the state is well-intended; we support it fully. However, companies seeking to invest in and around Bangalore cannot be driven away from the city citing the lack of land. Such companies tend to look at Hosur in Tamil Nadu, which is not really #BeyondBengaluru but certainly #OutsideKarnataka. We are not against the development of Hosur or Krishnagiri, but for the development of Kolar and Chikballapur. Developing rail infrastructure to facilitate easy movement of people and goods to Bangalore, is a step in the right direction.

 

 

·         Kolar is a major tomato-growing hub in Karnataka. Aligning a major trunk route connecting Bangalore to the country’s Eastern & North-Eastern parts would boost the export of tomatoes grown in the region to other states.

 

·         There is a KSRTC/APSRTC bus to Tirupati from Bangalore almost round the clock, which is in addition to the ones operated by the former to Srinivaspur, Mulbagal, Hebbani, Bangarpet, KGF, Punganur (AP), Chittoor, Balijakhandriga (AP), Putthur (AP) etc. Further, KSRTC and the private operators based out of Bangalore & AP, serve routes such as Bangalore-Nellore, Bangalore-Vijayawada, and Bangalore-Vishakhapatnam, Bangalore-Kakinada (through Rajahmundhry) etc. via Kolar, Chittoor, Tirupati, Kalahasti, & Naidupet. Trains bound for cities such as Kolkata, Guwahati, Agartala, Ranchi etc., are currently going past Chennai or at least Renigunta. Therefore, developing a Whitefield-Kolar-Chittoor railway line shortens the distance, by serving as a Bangalore-Howrah trunk route. The yield from this line is bound to be very high.

 

 

Alignment of the Whitefield-Kolar-Mulbagal-Nangli-Chittoor Railway Line

Ideally, the alignment of the line should be as below:

               Overall Alignment Parallel to the National Highway


We can zoom-in on the above map to see the individual stations.

Whitefield-Kolar Segment

Ideally, it should deviate to the left from the Bangalore-Chennai trunk line after the Whitefield station and continue parallel to NH 648 (old NH 207) towards Hoskote, one of the busiest portions of Bangalore (despite not being under the BBMP).

A station at Dandupalya, the junction of roads connecting Hoskote to Bangalore, Kolar, Shidlaghatta, Chintamani/Madanapalle, Malur, and Hosur, would facilitate the interchange with buses. The line continues further along the NH to reach Chittoor via Kolar, Mulbagal, Nangli, Palamaner, Mogli, and Bangarupalem.


Kolar-Mulbagal Segment

Connecting the existing Kolar station along with other strategically important locations such as the Narsapur industrial area and the Kolar APMC may require the line to criss-cross the NH multiple times; this is bound to push up the land acquisition costs. Hence creating a new station beside the Kolar-Tekal road (SH 99) may be a feasible idea.


Mulbagal-Nangli Segment

Nangli station should be developed on the lines of Panvel station in Navi Mumbai. Panvel is the terminus for harbor line trains operated by the Central railway from CSMT Mumbai, while the long-distance trains plying through the Konkan Railway route continue without any hindrance. Likewise, Nangli must be the terminus for Bangalore Suburban Rail project area, while trains bound for Tirupati can continue further. The station areas of suburban and long-distance trains must be beside each other with seamlessly accessible from one another for passengers. However, the demarcation between the trains, is a must.


Nangli-Chittoor Segment

  • As mentioned, stations within AP can be built at Palamaner, Mogli, Bangarupalem and any other place found feasible.
  • To avoid engine reversals, the line must enter Chittoor from the South (Vellore end). If this involves more land acquisition, the alignment can be modified to Bangarupalem-Kanipakam-Pakala Junction.

Challenges Around Bangalore

High cost of land acquisition is the biggest challenge. While the satellite view of Google Maps shows the space along NH 648 to be empty, one cannot completely rely on it. The same satellite view shows routes being created beyond the Devanagonthi station. Is it for the Whitefield-Kolar railway line? Possibly so as Former CM, Mr. BS Yediyurappa in 2019, had sent a revised proposal to the central government for implementing this project. Source


                                          Possible Alignment for the Whitefield-Kolar Railway Line


If imagined as a straight line towards the national highway, this would lead to Narsapur Industrial Area. Hence, it could be the new revised proposal sent by the state government to the railway ministry.

There is no clarity regarding the alignment for this project (despite being approved) as it has never been made public. This is very much unlike the Hubli-Ankola railway line, whose alignment map is available in the public domain.

Chintamani-Madanapalle Railway Line: A Relatively Inexpensive Alternative Alignment to Tirupati from Bangalore

Linking Chintamani (instead of Srinivaspur) to Madanapalle, allows trains from Bangalore City to reach Tirupati via Yelahanka, Devanahalli, Chikballapur, Shidlaghatta, Chintamani, Madanapalle Town, Madanapalle Road, Pileru, Pakala Junction, & Chandragiri. While this allows more trains to ply through Chikballapur, it once again deprives Kolar of the rail connectivity to Bangalore that it very much needs.

One of the news from Andhra Pradesh is that the state government there is not willing to share the project cost or the land for free to implement rail projects. In comparison with the Whitefield-Kolar-Mulbagal-Chittoor project, this alignment works cheaper as it is very short. Since Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh must acquire very little land to make this line a reality, the cost burden on both states is minimal.

Proposed Chintamani – Madanapalle Road Railway Line

Final Note

In any case, the Whitefield-Kolar-Chittoor railway line project must be implemented to support the growth and development of Kolar district. Kolar and Chikballapur to Bangalore can be what Gurgaon & Noida are to Delhi. Being forgotten amidst all these regions is the Bangalore Rural District, which continues to be deprived of rail connectivity to Bangalore.

  • Nobody knows why the Bangalore-Tumkur line avoided Nelamangala in the past. Except for slow passengers, no express trains stop at Gollahalli, which is the equivalent of Nelamangala en route to Tumkur.
  • Not many trains really ply on the Hassan line and the express trains bound for Mangalore/Karwar are said to skip Nelamangala. (There were protests recently in this regard).
  • Dodballapur has good rail connectivity, which is of no use as no express train (except for Udyan Express) stops there. In fact, most trains even skip Gauribidanur but not Hindupur.
  • Rail tracks through Devanahalli aren’t really serving any purpose. Chikballapur must ideally be linked to Satya Sai Prashanti Nilayam via Gudibande & Bagepalli, following which it would be a trunk route connecting Bangalore to Hyderabad, Nagpur, Bhopal, Agra, Delhi, & the rest of North India.
  • People of Hoskote must rely on either Whitefield (Bangalore Urban District) or Devanagonthi station (in Hoskote Taluk of Bangalore Rural District) to board a train. Once again, it must be noted that only a few passenger trains stop at Devanagonthi while a few express and passenger trains halt at Whitefield.
  • The case in Anekal Road (Bangalore Urban District) is no different. Most trains may skip Anekal, but they mandatorily stop at Hosur.

 

Somehow most elected representatives are either unaware of all these points or just do not care about it. Ultimately it is the citizens who suffer. All of this must change, but when would it?





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