Arebetta crossing station to boost train services on Hassan-Mangaluru ghat section
MANGALURU: The South Western Railway (SWR) will soon be able to operate at least two additional pairs of passenger trains on the Hassan-Mangaluru railway line with the commissioning of a new crossing station at Arebetta, located between Shiribagilu and Yadakumari on the Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road ghat section.
The upgrade is expected to fulfil the much-anticipated Vande Bharat Express service between Bengaluru and coastal Karnataka, as reported by The Hindu.
Currently, the ghat section handles eight pairs of trains per day, including five passenger services:
• Bengaluru-Kannur
• Bengaluru-Karwar
• Bengaluru-Murdeshwar
• Vijayapura-Mangaluru Central
• Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction/Karwar Express (day trains)
Daytime passenger services will remain suspended until November 1, 2025, to facilitate electrification work on the 55-km stretch.
According to SWR officials, Arebetta does not have sufficient space to accommodate the 750-metre loop lines needed for crossing long freight trains. Instead, a 600-metre loop line will be built which will allow crossings for coaching (passenger) trains.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Lok Sabha that the Hassan-Mangalore Rail Development Corporation (HMRDC) will bear the cost of developing the station.
Electrification is already complete on the Subrahmanya Road-Shiribagilu (14 km) and Sakleshpur-Donigal (9 km) sections. Work continues on the remaining 32 km between Shiribagilu and Donigal. Progress depends on factors such as forest clearance, utility relocation, statutory approvals and the area’s challenging geography.
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
