New toy train to run at Bal Bhavan by March

New toy train to run at Bal Bhavan by March

The Hindu

# New train to be purchased for Rs. 80 lakh
# Project expected to be completed by March



OLD FAITHFUL: `Putani Express', the toy train that runs at Jawahar Bal Bhavan in Bangalore. — PHOTO K. MURALI KUMAR

BANGALORE: Remember those times when you waited in never-ending queues for your turn on the `Putani Express', the toy train at Jawahar Bal Bhavan near Cubbon Park, while all those happy kids hopped on before you?

If things go as planned in the next three months, this might become a thing of the past.

The society is planning to replace the existing train and re-lay the track, says administrative officer T. Annapurna. "We will acquire a new train as the current one is thirty years old and can seat only 20 people. The new one will have an additional coach," she said, and added that the new train would be purchased for Rs. 80 lakh from San Engineering and Locomotives.

The plan is to upgrade the track from the existing 1.6-foot gauge to the standard two-foot one, and to use concrete sleepers. Its length, however, will remain at 1.5 km. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by March next year.