Piyush Goyal to inaugurate electric train between Mysuru-Bengaluru on December 26

The electrified double track between the two cities completed at a cost of nearly  Rs 210 crore.   

This follows completion of the track electrification work by the Central Organization for Rail Electrification (CORE), Allahabad, and statutory inspection by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) who has since given clearance to make the entire stretch operational.   

Once inaugurated, trains running on the Mysuru-Chennai section are likely to be hauled by the electric locomotives and this includes the Chennai-Mysuru-Chennai Shatabdi Express and Mysuru-Chennai-Mysuru Kaveri Express. But the authorities are working on the possibility of operating two other long distance trains originating from Mysuru - one to Darbhanga in Bihar and the other to Howrah.   

"Besides, we plan to introduce three passenger trains on the Mysuru-Bengaluru section, but all these may materialize by March," according to official sources.

South Western Railway (SWR) sources told UNI that the full benefits of track electrification will fructify only if the Mysuru-Bengaluru stretch is serviced by the Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) suburban services to provide fast, reliable and cheap transportation between the two cities. This is because the MEMUs provide for faster acceleration and deceleration besides better traction that will reduce the running time.

"Merely hauling the existing rakes with electric locomotives will have limited benefits of saving fuel cost. But what is perturbing is that MEMU services on the section are yet to be delivered. The State government, as per the agreement, has allotted 80 per cent of the cost but the Railways are yet to receive the full set of rakes from Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala. As against orders placed for 14 MEMU rakes by the Railway Board, only six MEMU rakes have been supplied so far, said the official. The remaining eight rakes are expected to be supplied by October 2018, he added.

As per the MoU signed early this year by the State government and the Railways, 15 pairs of existing passenger train rakes operating out of Bengaluru Division are to be converted to MEMU rakes at a cost of Rs 278 crore.

At present, 24 pairs of trains operate on the Mysuru-Bengaluru section but introduction of additional services on the section will also hinge on de-congestion of Bengaluru station and expansion of Mysuru station.