Doubling of Bangalore-Mysore track may raise passenger traffic

Doubling of Bangalore-Mysore track may raise passenger traffic

The Hindu

BANGALORE, NOV. 23. Doubling of the railway track between Bangalore and Mysore may result in some shift in passenger traffic from road to rail but the shift may not be significant. This has been found on the basis of a study undertaken by the Bangalore-based India International Infrastructure Engineers Pvt. Ltd.

The study was conducted to see whether more frequent and faster trains between the two cities would have an impact on the existing highway that is being widened and the larger expressway that is part of the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor project.

At present, close to 11,000 passengers travel every day by train from Bangalore to Mysore, and a fewer number to places on the route such as Ramanagaram, Channapatna, Maddur, and Mandya. The number of persons travelling to Mysore by bus is considerably higher, with an average of 72,320 every day. Passenger traffic by cars amounts to 15,608 a day. Most of the highway traffic consists of cars going to Mysore.

Shift

According to the study, after doubling the railway line passenger traffic on trains will increase by 1.5 times initially. This is assumed to shift from road traffic. About 55 per cent of the shift is likely to be from the State highway and 45 per cent from the proposed expressway. Not many travelling by car on business are likely to prefer the train; they would need transport within Mysore and hiring a taxi there is expensive.

More frequent train services could affect traffic on the State highway because there are 83 railway level crossings along the way. On the existing railway line, 24 trains run daily from both directions. Traffic hold-ups at railway level crossings will considerably increase with more trains, the traffic study has found.

Connectivity

The doubling of the railway line and the expressway/corridor project (when it is completed) means better connectivity between Bangalore and Mysore. This will help in the development of towns along the way such as Ramanagaram, Channapatna, Mandya, and Mysore itself.