Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that Karnataka will undertake Rs 7,559 crore worth of railway projects for the fiscal year 2024-25, marking the highest-ever allocation in the Union Budget for the state’s railway works. Compared to the Rs 835 crore annual allocation during the Congress-led UPA Government in 2013-14, the 2024-25 allocation is nine times higher.
He also highlighted that 59 railway stations in Karnataka, including Bellary, Belagavi, Chitradurga, Davangere, and other cities will be developed as Amrit stations under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, aiming to enhance and modernize railway stations across the Indian Railways network.
A total of 31 mega railway projects worth Rs 47,000 crore are currently being implemented in Karnataka. In the past decade, 638 railway over-bridges and under-bridges have been constructed across the state.
Vaishnaw emphasized the importance of expedited land acquisition by the state government for timely project completion. Highlighting the NDA Government’s focus on railway projects, he noted that an average of 163 km of new tracks were laid daily between 2014 and 2024, compared to 113 km per day from 2009 to 2014. Additionally, 317 km of railway track electrification per day was achieved from 2014 to 2024, a significant increase from the 18 km per day between 2009 and 2014.
