Budget 2018: 6 percent hike in Budgetary proposals for South Western Railway

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The Union Budget 2018-19 has allocated Rs 3,353 crore to the South Western Railway (SWR) zone, a 6 per cent increase from Rs 3,174 crore in fiscal 2017-18, said an official on Tuesday. "The Budget has allocated Rs 3,353 crore to our zone (SWR) for the ensuing fiscal as against Rs 3,174 crore for FY 2017-18," SWR General Manager A.K. Gupta told reporters here, about 400 km from Bengaluru in Karnataka's northwest region.

The railway zone, headquartered in Hubballi, has been allocated Rs 12,000 crore in the Budget for the construction of 142-km corridors for Bengaluru suburban train service. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced the planning of a suburban network of 160 km at an estimated cost of Rs 17,000 crore to the city, as part of his speech while presenting the Union Budget proposals in Parliament. "A total of Rs 840 crore has been allocated as part of the Budget for doubling of 212-km tracks in the zone," Gupta said.

The 48-km tracks from Baiyappanahalli in Bengaluru's eastern suburb to Hosur city in the northwestern part of Tamil Nadu will be doubled at an estimated cost of Rs 375 crore. The tracks between Penukonda in Andhra Pradesh, about 140 km north of Bengaluru, and Dharmavaram in Andhra Pradesh, about 185 km north of Bengaluru, would also be doubled at a budget of Rs 294 crore.

The SWR has been granted Rs 919 crore in the 2018-19 Budget for the electrification of seven routes in Karnataka spanning 989 route km. These include tracks between Mysuru and Mangaluru, and Bangarpet in Karnataka's Kolar district and Yelahanka.

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