Is the demand for daily train connectivity between Mysuru, the cultural capital of Karnataka, and Mumbai, the financial capital of India, growing with Mysuru emerging as a premier start-up hub?
According to Pratap Simha, Mysuru MP, the demand for daily train services between the two cities has become the need of the hour considering the demand generated among the travelling public with Mysuru seeing a lot of development.
He said the city is now well-placed for innovation spirit, co-working, incubation, academic, and early stage acceleration programmes that facilitate the influx of talent pool of labour from across the country.
The International Semiconductor Consortium (ISMC) will be setting up India’s first chip-making plant in Mysuru and this facility has the potential to generate employment opportunities both direct and in the ancillary ecosystem, the MP said, in a letter to Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Mr. Simha met the Minister in New Delhi and discussed the Mysuru-centric projects with him.
He said the proposed new mega textile park in Mysuru holds the promise of nearly ten thousand jobs and help in economic development besides attracting huge investments and infrastructure development in the region. Likewise, the silk cluster in Mysuru will be one of the six to be created across the country as a labour intensive industry.
The 119-km Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway and the expansion of Mysuru airport will undoubtedly contribute to the growth trajectory of Mysuru as an alternative IT hub to Bengaluru. It heralds the beginning of the movement of a large number of skilled and unskilled labour to the Mysuru region from every part of the country, especially Maharashtra and Gujarat, the MP said in the letter.
“In this perspective, the daily rail connectivity between Mysuru and Mumbai would be a boon. Affordable, safe and faster rail services will no doubt deliver immense benefits to the people not only Mysuru but also those residing in several adjoining districts like Kodagu, Chamarajanagar, Mandya and Hassan.”
For the development of the Mysuru railway station, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone in Mysuru. The objective is to create the additional infrastructural capacity to deal with the projected rail traffic by optimally utilising the electrified double line between Mysuru and Bengaluru. In the nearby Naganahalli and Ashokapuram railway stations, several works are in progress for building additional platforms and stabling lines to ensure that the Mysuru station has the requisite physical infrastructure to operate long-distance trains, connectivity tourism and pilgrim centres in different parts of the country, he said.
With this objective in mind, the service of train no 1130/02 CST Mumbai-KSR Bengaluru City Udyan Express can be extended to run to and from Mysuru. “The local railway officials informed me that the train would remain in KSR Bengaluru city for over 12 hours. This train has primary maintenance at Solapur while the other end attention takes place at KSR Bengaluru city and CST Mumbai stations.”
He urged the Minister to consider examining the operational feasibility of extending the service of this train to and from Mysuru, thus enabling the fulfillment of a long-pending demand of the people of this region for daily direct train connectivity from Mysuru to Mumbai.
“The prospect of transporting coffee and spices from Kodagu and finished products like truck tyres, instant food and agarbathis, handicrafts, motorcycle and industrial gears and others by rail will be bright once fast, seamless services between Mysuru and Mumbai becomes a reality,” he opined.
