The Hindu Business Line : S-W Rly takes up work on Hubli-Ankola line

The Karwar port — which has been attracting a good quantity of iron ore cargo from its hinterland — will get a boost in traffic, if the proposed 160-km-long railway line comes through.

Mangalore , May 25

Hubli-Ankola railway line seems to be the vital missing track between Karwar port — one of the important minor ports in Karnataka — and its hinterland in northern Karnataka.

The Karwar port — which has been attracting a good quantity of iron ore cargo from its hinterland — will get a boost in traffic, if the proposed 160-km-long railway line comes through.

A shared project between the Karnataka Government and the Railways, the Hubli-Ankola railway line is expected to cost nearly Rs 1,000 crore. However, the State Government is yet to sign an agreement in this regard.

The SWR General Manager, Mr T.N. Perti, told Business Line the zone has taken up work between Hubli and Kiravatti on the Hubli-Ankola line.

"Even if we go up to Kiravatti, it will be quite a help to road transport of iron ore. This will eliminate so many trucks on the road. We are very keen on the project," he said.

Around Rs 60 crore has been spent till March, he said. The budget allocation for this fiscal is Rs 10 crore.

PROBLEMS

The major problem in taking up the work on the railway line seems to be acquisition of forestland between Hubli and Ankola. Of this, the main forestland is between Kiravatti and Ankola.

Earlier, the Railways had proposed more than 900 hectares of forestland for track and stations.

"On a request by the Forest Department, we have cut out everything and come to 720 hectares of minimum requirement," Mr Perti said. This land is awaiting clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Asked if the line will run parallel to the road, he said there are some constraints in it. First one is that the road can take gradients, but train can't take much gradient. The second one is that the railway track can't follow the curves of the road. "These two constraints are changing the alignment. Otherwise, we are going parallel to the road traffic," he added.