Bagalkot – Kudachi New Railway line

Bagalkot – Kudachi New Railway line

Salient Features of the Bagalkot – Khajjidoni Project

Bagalkot – Kudachi New Railway line (142 Km) project was sanctioned in 2010 -11 at a cost of Rs.986 Cr. and has been taken up under 50:50 cost sharing basis between Govt. of Karnataka & Ministry of Railways. In addition, the cost of land acquisition is being borne by State Government. This line serves Bagalkot and Belagavi Districts. Railway being most energy efficient transport mode will open up new avenues of development in Bagalkot District.

1.	District Served	:	Bagalkot.
2.	Length of Bagalkot – Khajjidoni line	:	30 km
3.	Cost of the Project upto – Khajjidoni	:	Rs.278 Cr (approx.)
4.	Number of Bridges	:	93 Nos
	i) Major Bridges	:	06 Nos
	ii) Minor Bridges	:	54 Nos
	iii) Road Under Bridge	:	33 nos.
5.	Permanent Way	:	60 kg rails with sleeper density of 1660
6.	Standard of Signaling	:	Multiple Aspect Colour Light Signal
7.	No. of Stations	:	02 Crossing stations (Bagalkot &Khajjidoni),                                        04 Halt stations: (Navanagar, Sulikeri,   Kerakalmatti & Hireshellikeri).
8.	This section is constructed without any en-route Level crossing gates.

 

Social Impact

Historically, Badami which is part of Bagalkot was the capital of the Chalukya empire. Remnants of Chalukyan art and architecture are important tourist attractions in Bagalkot District. The new railway line connects following places of tourist importance of North Karnataka, viz. Badami (Famous cave temple), Pattadakallu(UNESCO World Heritage Site), Aihole(the erstwhile capital of Chalukya Kingdom with as many as 125 temples dating back to 5th century AD), KoodalaSangama(Samadhi of 12th-century social reformist Basavanna known for his crusade against caste exploitation), Gokak Falls and Kittur(Palace of Rani Chennamma).

Similarly the important places like Bagalkot, Lokapur, Yadwad, Mudhol, Jamkhandi, JagdalHarugeri and Kudachi will be connected by extension of line further uptoKudachi resulting in easy movement of passengers and goods. This railway line will open up historical and heritage tourist potential of the region.

Economic Impact:

The focus sectors in this area are

• Agriculture

• Cement

• Sugar based industries

• Silk &handloom industries

Opening this new rail line will benefit above sectors as under

• Hinterland agricultural products can be transported using rail network

• Farmers will be benefitted by flourishing dairy, sericulture and floriculture streams.

• Mineral wealth of district will be tapped .There are rich Rich lime stone deposits in and around Lokapur.

• Sugar and Cement factories in the region will get boosted.

• Weavers will get increased avenues for marketing handlooms

• Investment on this project will result in increased employment opportunities and generation of infrastructure in this hitherto backward district of Karnataka

• Originating Rail traffic on new line includes Cement, Lime stone, Sugar due to industries located in this line.

• Terminating traffic will be of coal, slag, fly ash and Fertilizer.

This new line will be of immense benefit to this part of North Karnataka by improving connectivity thereby contributing to overall socio economic development of the region.