Union Minister of State for Railways K H Muniyappa flagged off the extension service of Bangalore- Shimoga Express from Shimoga to Talaguppa and Shimoga-Birur-Mysore passenger train here on Saturday.
He assured of speaking about the long standing demand of a new railway project between Talaguppa and Honnavar with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
Muniyappa said that sharing the cost between the State and Central government provided scope for implementation of 16 projects in the state.
He added that if the state government agreed to share two-thirds of the total cost to be incurred for the Talaguppa- Honnavar line, he would discuss the issue with the PM and Environment Minister to eliminate hurdles related to environment. “This project would pass through 1,000 acres of thick forest area and tunnels that stretches to about 60 km. If the State Government bears the cost of Rs 2,500 crore out of Rs 4,000 crore, the project would be completed in the next five years,” he said.
The issue will be discussed with Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and senior ministers in Bangalore on September 12. Later a delegation from the state would be taken to New Delhi. Regarding the demand of MP B Y Raghavendra, Deputy Chief Minister K S Eshwarappa and senior Congress leader Kagodu Thimmappa, he said that he would take steps to ensure three more additional stops, namely Harnahalli, Kumsi and Arasalu, for the extension service from Shimoga to Talaguppa.
Muniyappa added that railway over bridge work would be completed by December 2012 at Shimoga and Bhadravati. He also directed the railway authorities to complete the survey Shimoga-Shikaripur-Ranebennur in the next three months.
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