Mysuru track doubling: traffic on newly-laid second line commissioned.

The newly laid second line between Naganahalli and Yeliuru, as part of track doubling work between Mysuru and Bengaluru, was commissioned for traffic on Monday.

With this, 137.5 km of the 139-km stretch between Mysuru and Bengaluru is now double-tracked and has become operational.

A 1.5-km stretch between Srirangapatna and Pandavapura is still served by a single line track and will be converted into double track upon shifting the 18th century armoury which bisects the alignment of the second track.

The Mysuru–Sainagar Shirdi Weekly Express which departed from the city at 5 a.m. was the first train which ran on the new track and officials said everything went off well. The 21-km stretch has been given clearance for a top speed of 90 kmph by the Commissioner for Railway Safety.

The work on translocation of the monument is under way and is expected to be completed by March 2016, and entails physically moving it to a new site about 100 metres from the existing spot.

Sources in the Railways told The Hindu that a progressive reduction of running time of all trains on the entire Mysuru–Bengaluru stretch will be possible and the 139 km journey can be covered in under two hours for express trains. At present, most trains take up to three hours and thirty minutes to cover the distance.

THE HINDU