Mangalore–Hassan–Mysore line

Mangalore–Hassan–Mysore line
A train crosses the Western Ghats in Karnataka, between Subramanya and Sakleshpur, in August 2011
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Indian Railways
Locale	Karnataka, India
Termini	Mangalore Central Mysore Junction
Service
Operator(s)	Southern Railway and South Western Railway
History
Opened	20 May 1979 (1979-05-20) (Mangalore–Hassan section) 3 January 1918 (1918-01-03) (Hassan–Mysore section)
Technical
Track length	309 km (192 mi)
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Old gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) Metre gauge
Electrification	No
Route map Legend km 0 Mangalore Central Bunder Goods Shed To Shoranur–Mangalore section 6 Mangalore Junction To Konkan Railway 8 Padil 15 Faringapete Halt 25 Bantawala Netravathi River 32 Kalladaka 39 Neralakatte Halt 49 Kabakaputur 59 Narimogaru 68 Kaniuru Halt 78 Yedamangala Kumaradhara River 82 Kodimbala Halt 85 Bajakere Halt 91 Subrahmanya Road 103 Shiribagilu 113 Harebetta 121 Yedakumari 129 Kadagaravalli 139 Donigal 147 Sakleshpur Hemavathi River To Bangalore–Arsikere–Hubli line 161 Ballupete 175 Alur Halt 189 Hassan Junction To Bangalore–Arsikere–Hubli line To Hassan–Bangalore section 210 Mavinkere Hemavathi River 221 Hole Narsipur 230 Annechakanahali 234 Sravanur 240 Mandagere 248 Birahalli 253 Akkihebbalu 259 Hosa Agrahara 264 Arjunahalli 270 Hampapura Kaveri River 275 Krishnarajanagara 280 Dornahalli Kaveri River 285 Sagarkatte 289 Kallur Yadahalli 296 Krishnarajasagar 305 MNGT New Bypass To Mysore–Bangalore line 309 Mysore Junction To Mysore–Chamarajanagar branch line Source: Google Maps, Kannur - KSR Bengaluru Express (via Mysuru)

Mangalore–Hassan–Mysore line is a railway route of both Southern and South Western Railway zone of Indian Railways. This route plays an important role in rail transportation of Mysore division of Karnataka state.

The corridor passes through the Western Ghats and the Mysore Plateau, connecting the mainland to the coastal areas of Karnataka with a stretch of 309 km with one reversal direction at Hassan Junction.

It is divided into two sections: Mangalore Central — Hassan Junction and Hassan — Mysore Junction.

History[]

The main railway line from Hassan to Mangalore section was originally built as a metre-gauge line and was opened in small sections between 1976 and 1977, inaugurated finally on 20 May 1979 for passenger transportation. 17 years later it was closed for gauge conversion, on 20 September 1996.^[1] The ghat sub-section between Sakleshpur and Subrahmanya Road was considered a challenging section. The gauge conversion of this section was handed over to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), formed for the task – the Hassan Mangalore Rail Development Company Limited (HMRDC). The company has the Government of Karnataka and the Railway Ministry as majority stakeholders, while Mangalore port trust and a couple of other bodies as minority stakeholders.^[2]

The gauge conversion took a very long time and is marked in red-letters in the Indian Railways' history. Although the first section after the conversion was opened in January 1998, the rest of the works were done at very slow pace. The first sub-section to be opened was Hassan Junction – Sakleshpur, a distance of about 42 km. The next stretch to be inaugurated was between Mangalore Central and Kabaka Puttur, a distance of about 44 km, opened in December 2003. Another section of the line from Kabaka Puttur to Subrahmanya Road, 42 km, was opened in July 2005. The remaining final stretch (Sakleshpur–Subrahmanya), a ghat section with 1 in 55 grades all along, was opened in May 2006 for freight services and in December 2007 for passenger operations.

As per the Railway Budget 1995–96, the Hassan–Mysore section was also proposed to gauge conversion to 5ft 6in broad gauge.^[3] Before that, the Hassan–Mysore section was also opened on 3 January 1918 as a metre-gauge line.^[4]

Projects[]

There is a proposal for doubling the Mangalore–Hassan–Mysore line with electrification for reduction of time travelling between the coastal and plateau regions of Karnataka which will be a boon for the economy on this route.^[5][6]

References[]