Bengaluru: As the rail quadrupling project between Bengaluru and Tumakuru heads towards land acquisition, South Western Railway (SWR) is banking on Karnataka govt for timely completion of the much-awaited project.The 70-km project is expected to boost rail connectivity between two neighbouring cities witnessing high daily footfall.The railway ministry Saturday notified the appointment of three arbitrators for land acquisition with the special land acquisition officer (SLAO) as the competent authority for Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural and Tumakuru districts. The current regional commissioners of these districts will serve as arbitrators.In order to fast-track land acquisition, the ministry designated the quadrupling as a special railway project (SRP). The final location survey was completed with 51 villages being notified across three districts.South Western Railway (SWR) sources believe land acquisition could start in a few months, though the exact timeline hasn’t been revealed. “Land acquisition will be done by the state govt; we will be coordinating as per the survey and providing numbers. The status of the acquisition will be published only through the competent authority for land acquisition,” a senior SWR official told TOI.He added that land acquisition by Karnataka govt has been delayed on multiple occasions, slowing down rail works: “Many projects like Dharwad-Belagavi new line via Kittur have been pending since almost four years. We don’t know the timeline; it all depends on state govt’s interest.”SWR currently operates seven pairs of Memu (mainline electric multiple unit) trains on the route with around 18,000 passengers using these services daily. At Tumakuru station, 79 mail/express trains and 29 passenger trains have scheduled stoppages. SWR has also provided a stop for Vande Bharat Express operating between KSR Bengaluru and Dharwad.
