Local railway commuters’ hopes up after completion of Vijayapura–Gadag line doubling

Hubballi: With the commissioning of the newly laid Broad Gauge double line between Almatti and Wandal, covering a total length of 9.6 km, which was a bottleneck for train movements due to Almatti bridge, now people of Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Gadag, Koppal, Ballari and other districts look for luxury trains like Vande Bharat. The section was opened for public carriage of passengers in March as part of the Gadag–Hotgi line doubling project. It includes construction of an important open web girder bridge across the Parvatikatti River consisting of 9 spans of 45.7 metres each. In addition, one minor bridge, one Road Over Bridge (ROB) and other associated infrastructure have also been completed. It was one of the most important pending links in the doubling project and its completion marks the final milestone for South Western Railway (SWR). It also ensures safer and smoother train operations and provides a major boost to rail connectivity and freight movement in the region connecting Mumbai and southern states.Kutubuddin Kazi, state president, Karnataka Railway Development Agitation Committee, Bagalkot recalled that Hotgi-Gadag is one of ill-fated sections in the history of Indian railway. "Train services were hampered here for over a decade in 2000s for gauge conversion. A railway report prepared in 2011 mentioned that 32 up and down daily trains will be run. However, officials kept giving one or other reasons like line doubling, electrification etc. Now all odds are addressed and SWR should run 32 up and down trains including Vande Bharat, super fast expresses and other luxury trains. If Mumbai-Bengaluru trains are diverted from Miraj-Hubballi route to Daund, Solapur, Vijayapura, Bagalkot and Gadag, the distance will be reduced by 95 kms. Moreover, traffic on Mumbai-Kalaburagi-Bengaluru and Mumbai-Hubballi-Bengaluru can be decongested. It will be profitable for the Railway and less expensive and time-saving for passengers. Railway officials and elected representatives should think about it seriously," he demanded.Bharatraj Desai, Shankar Jalli and other office bearers of Almatti Railway Abhivruddhi Horata Samiti, asserted that Almatti has emerged as tourist hub in recent years but is deprived of sufficient railway facilities. "We have urged Railway to provide stoppage for all long route trains at Almatti. Since Aug 2025, when Almatti-Bagalkot 35 kms' stretch was facilitated with doubled line, trains punctuality is increased. Many trains from Almatti are reaching Gadag early by 30 minutes. However, this benefit is not yet diverted to passengers at large. SWR should reduce travel time of all trains running through Hotgi-Gadag. We are meeting SWR officials in Hubballi soon," they stated.