The work on the Mysore-Madikeri broad gauge railway line will begin in the next six months, according to K.H. Muniyappa.
The Union Minister of State for Railways, who was in Mangalore on Thursday to flag off the Yashvantpur-Mangalore-Karwar train, said the proposed line would be taken up on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis with the Karnataka Government at an estimated cost of Rs 700 crore.
He said the 90-km Mysore-Kushalnagar stretch on this line is expected to be completed in five years. “It will be a proud moment for the people of Coorg as the project would put the district on the railway map of India for the first time,” he said.
Indian Railways has taken up several projects on cost-sharing basis in Karnataka to achieve the twin objectives of connectivity to the hinterland and economic growth of backward areas.
The cost-sharing projects, with an outlay of Rs 6,000 crore, are in progress in this regard. Of this, Rs 3,600 crore is being shared by the Karnataka Government, he said.
To improve the railway infrastructure in Karnataka, Rs 15,623 crore has been sanctioned for new lines and track doubling in the last three years. This includes 356 km of new lines and 568 km of track doubling, he added.