Arebetta holds key to launch of Vande Bharat on Bengaluru-Mangaluru route

Indian Railways will be able to operate at least two more pairs of passenger trains upon commissioning of a crossing station at Arebetta on the Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road ghat section of the Hassan-Mangaluru railway line.

Thus, the South Western Railway (SWR) would be able to operate the much-sought-after Vande Bharat Express between Bengaluru and coastal Karnataka upon commissioning of the crossing station.

At present, the ghat section handles eight pairs of trains in a 24-hour window, including five passenger trains:

• Bengaluru-Kannur

• Bengaluru-Karwar

• Bengaluru-Murdeshwar

• Vijayapura-Mangaluru Central

• Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction/Karwar Express (day trains)

The day services are suspended till November 1 to facilitate railway electrification work on the 55-km ghat section.

Sources in SWR told The Hindu that Arebetta, located in between Shiribagilu and Yadakumari, does not have enough length to facilitate crossing of freight trains that require at least 750-metre-long loop line. With the available space, a loop line of about 600 metres could be constructed to cater to coaching trains, sources said.

The crossing station is being established in view of the increasing demand to operate more passenger trains, including the Vande Bharat Express, between Bengaluru and the coast, sources said.

Who will bear the cost

Railway Minister Ashwinin Vaishnaw told the Lok Sabha recently that Hassan-Mangalore Rail Development Corporation (HMRDC) would bear the cost of developing Arebetta Crossing Station. In his reply to an unstarred question by Udupi-Chikkamagalru MP Kota Srinivas Poojary, the Minister said, “It has been decided to develop Arebetta Railway Station as a Crossing Station.”

Mr. Poojary has constantly been following up with the Railway Ministry regarding developing Arebetta station as a Crossing Station to enhance train handling capacity on the ghat section.

Railway electrification update

Mr. Vaishnaw said railway electrification was complete on the Subrahmanya Road-Shiribagilu (14 km) stretch and Sakleshpur-Donigal (9 km) stretch on the Subrahmaya Road-Sakleshpur ghat section (55 km).

Work is underway in the remaining stretch — Shiribagilu-Donigal (32 km).

Completion electrification work depends on various factors, including forest clearance, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearance by various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of the area.