The anticipated project for a 2nd railway terminal for the city may not happen due any sooner due to the current importance on the capacity of the track and increasing facilities for the passengers. The Railway Board has highlighted the current focus of authorities to the divisional and zonal railway officials to use the MPLAD money to increase passenger services. The time span to finish the track which will double between Tumakuru to Arsikere and Chikjajur to Hubbali shows the focus of the Indian Railways.
The 2nd terminal for Mysore was proposed at the Belagola. The Divisional Railway Manager, Vinod Kumar had specified that this project will be a part of the approved developments and would come in force soon. The main objective is to reduce the pressure at Mysuru railway station. And for that the objective was to build 2 or 3 stabling lines with a pit line for care at the cost of Rs. 28 crores.
If sources are to be believed, all the projects involving heavy investments are put on hold currently and the main emphasis is on finishing the works in progress without any interruptions. The requirement for the second terminal was important because of the increased train traffic to Mysuru.
The current facilities at the station:
Presently the station has six platforms and handles around 42 trains daily but the numbers are expected to rise up gradually. But the irony in the situation is that new and additional trains can’t be announced without an increase in the capacity of the Mysore station which is closed in. There will be a need for new yards to accommodate new trains, and this cannot be proposed for now. Hence, it was suggested that Belagola can be developed as a 2nd terminal line and all the passengers and express trains would depart towards the Hassan to Ariskere line from there.
This idea would reduce the entire load on Mysuru station if it would have accommodated additional trains for passengers. But railway sources have denied any proposal of such a project for now. The other considered station for a possible terminal was Ashokapuram. But the station has a limitation when it comes to land.
Another alternative was to expand some trains up to Chamarajanagar, but this idea required them to create a new maintenance plot, which would not be possible due to the scarcity of water in that district.
The current railway projects are developing quickly and hopefully, Mysuru stations will announce new trains.