The Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) has said that public and private participation (PPP) should not be resorted to in major railway lines and has demanded early completion of project that are under way for the betterment of Karnataka.

According to FKCCI president, Mr N. S. Srinivasa Murthy, the Railways should give emphasis on creating more rail infrastructure and, in turn, focus on early completion of long-pending projects.

“Karnataka is a major contributor as far as revenue to the Railways is concerned and should be given its due share. There is a public opinion that Karnataka is given step-motherly treatment in sanctioning new railway lines,” he added.

Wishlist

Following is the Budget wish-list submitted to Railway Minister by the FKCCI:

Electrification of Bangalore-Tumkur rail line to ease density of road traffic and faster movement of goods/passengers.

Doubling of track : Tumkur-Arsikere, Chamarajanagar-Mettupalya rail link to be approved which would herald much-needed development of Chamarajnagar district. Direct link between Hubli-Belgaum-Karad because the existing route is a detour and this link would reduce travelling time by almost four hours.

To speed up the works of Almatti-Koppal, Bagalkot-Kuduchi rail lines for balanced growth of northern Karnataka. Early completion of the Bidar-Gulbarga line for development of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. Early completion of the Bangalore-Hassan line which would facilitate tourism and industrial development. Doubling of tracks: Hospet-Hubli-Goa which has reached saturation point.

Freight Corridors

Point-to-point faster movement of goods between the following cities/towns is essential to reduce road traffic, ensure safety of men and material plying on road and also cost effect transport system: i) Bangalore-Chennai; ii) Bangalore-Hubli-Belgaum-Mumbai; iii) Bangalore-Hassan-Mangalore; iv) Hubli-Hassan-Mangalore; v) roll on and roll out — Mumbai-Pune-Bangalore-Chennai; and vi) inland container depot (ICD)/container freight station (CFS) at Mangalore.

The traditional goods train movement is found to be taking longer time to reach the destination and perishable commodities require faster transport system.

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