Transport in Karnataka - Rail Transport

Rail Transport

The total length of rail track in Karnataka is 3089 km For a long time after independence, the railway network in the state was under the Southern and Western railway zones which were headquartered at Chennai and Mumbai respectively. The South Western Zone, headquartered at Hubballi was created in 2003 thus fulfilling a long-standing demand of the state. Several parts of the state now come under this zone with the remaining being under Southern Railways. Coastal Karnataka is covered under the Konkan railway network, a project that is regarded as one of the feats of Indian engineering and included the construction of a bridge of length 2,023 metres (6,637 ft) across the river Sharavathi at Honnavar and a tunnel of length 2,960 metres (9,711 ft) at Karwar. Bengaluru, the capital city, is extensively connected with inter-state destinations while other important cities and towns in the state are not so well-connected. The train connectivity within Karnataka has improved since K.H.Muniyappa,Member of Parliament from Kolar constituency has been the Union Minister of State for Railways.

• Mangaluru, one of the major cities in Karnataka now has a train service to other major cities like Bengaluru, Mysuru started on 8 December 2007, but not directly to Hubballi.
• Shimoga-Talaguppa,Mysore-Chamarajanagar meter-gauge tracks has been converted to broad-gauge. There is a direct train service from Mysuru to Talaguppa which is very close to the world famous Jog Falls.An announcement regarding the extension of Bangalore-Shimoga Express (night train) to Talaguppa has been made in the Railway budget 2012-13. There are 4 direct passenger trains running from Mysore to Chamarajanagar and a Chamarajanagar-Tirupati fast passenger which connects to the state capital Bengaluru via Mysuru.
• District capitals like Chikkamagaluru and Madikeri are not connected by a rail network.However a line linking Kadur in Chikkamagaluru district to Chikkamagaluru is underway. A rail link to Madikeri would be difficult since it is a hill station and any construction activity would harm the pristine environment.
• The district of Kodagu has no railway track within it.However a survey is under progress to link Mysuru with Kushalnagar in Kodagu district.
• Doubling of the track between Bengaluru and Mysuru (a line that receives very good patronage) is steadily progressing.
• Though the state has Konkan Railway within it; it has remained isolated with no trains running from other parts of the state to places that exist on the Konkan Railway.

The superfast Shatabdi Express trains run from Bengaluru to Chennai and Mysuru. A Jan Shatabdi express runs from Bengaluru to Hubballi and this is the first train in India that has been fitted with a GPS (Global Position System) based Location Announcement System. Using this system, the passengers are announced apriori the arrival of a station. Konkan Railway is an engineering marvel; the construction of which included the bridge across the river Sharavathi at Honnavar of length 2023 mts and a tunnel at Karwar of length 2960 mts. nnn

A high-end luxury train operated by the Tourism Department of Karnataka The Golden Chariot covers the places of interest in Karnataka and Goa under the tour name "Pride of the South". Places Covered: Bengaluru - Kabini/Bandipur - Mysuru - Hassan - Hampi - Gadag - Goa - Bengaluru. The same train covers the places of interest in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala with a different tour name "Southern Splendour". Places Covered: Bengaluru - Chennai - Mamallapuram - Pondicherry - Tiruchirapalli & Thanjavur - Madurai - Kanyakumari - Thiruvananthapuram - Backwaters & Kochi / Allepey - Bengaluru

For more information please visit the official website of The Golden Chariot: http://www.goldenchariot.org/