A greater thrust for electrification and modest support for ongoing projects were seen as the silver lines of the allocation to the South Western Railway from the Union government, which also sanctioned a new line between Belagavi and Dharwad (73 km) and two doubling works.
A sum of Rs 501 crore has been pumped into the ongoing work on five railway lines, including Tumakuru-Rayadurga, Gadag-Wadi and Shivamogga-Ranebennur.
Seven doubling works have received a shot in the arm with Rs 973 crore. Also, the Rs 101 crore funds for Whitefield quadrupling has come as a major boost.
However, there was a disappointment on the token grant of Rs 5 crore each for doubling of two lines – Byappanahalli-Hosur and Yashwantpur-Channasandra – that will help the Bengaluru division to run more local trains without waiting for the full-fledged suburban rail project.
