WIP : Nelamangala - Shravanabelagola new line!

One of the first signs of anything railway was this SWR marker stone we found near Solur, which lit up our hopes that we were definitely going to see signs of railway related work nearby. (Pawan Koppa)

A deep excavation which had been flattened to lay tracks was the first signs of the line we found at Solur, the first station after Nelamangala towards Shravanabelagola. The alignment seen here is towards SBGA. The work had stopped long back which was ind

The other side of the exacavation under the RoB at Solur. This is towards the Nelamangala end. (Pawan Koppa)

The next stop was Kunigal, where land acquisition problems compunded by the long fight between the Railways and the Vijay Mallya owned Kunigal Stud Farm, through which the aligment was supposed to cut through had halted work on the outskirts of the town a

Another look at the cultivated fields where a railway line construction was supposed to be in progress! (Pawan Koppa)

Brisk pace of activities for construction of the station premises at Yediyur (Kunal.S.Doddanavar)

At first sight this looks like a rail over bridge, infact this is the Yediyur station about 100 kms from Bangalore. Work here is going on at a decent speed. (Shishir Jairam)

A surveyor deeply engrossed in calculations at ???? (Kunal.S.Doddanavar)

The platform construction is underway, We hope it wont be long before we see a train chugging in from Shravanabelagola side. (Shishir Jairam)

Yediyur station getting ready. (Shishir Jairam)

The next station enroute was Yediyur, where the railway station and its platforms were coming up on a bridge. A unique, first of its kind we thought. The platform was coming up on the left, where mud was being piled and the unfilled allignment on the righ

Another look at the works-in-progress Yediyur station. The first platform is on the left of the picture followed by the area for the first loop, mainline/second loop which was followed by the area for the island platform on which I was standing and behind

As trucks and tractors bring in earth to raise ground for the platforms, a worker overseeing the activity gives me a curious look. Yediyur. (Pawan Koppa)

As we move ahead from Yediyur towards the next stop on this line, Channarayapatna we encounter this long bridge being constructed over a lake. It was right next to the Bangalore-Mangalore highway. (Pawan Koppa)

The Girder Bridge across the waters from the Yediyur Lake. This is also right next to the Bangalore Mangalore Highway. (Shishir Jairam)

Another view of the bridge over the lake. (Pawan Koppa)

Another view of the bridge facing the highway. (Pawan Koppa)

A view of the alignment towards Yediyur. The Yediyur station is located beyond the hill at the far background of the picture. (Pawan Koppa)

ROB completed and Channarayapatna station work in progress. (Kunal.S.Doddanavar)

Work from the MYS divison side has been pretty fast, the track are laid near Shravanabelagola. (Shishir Jairam)

All set ofr laying of tracks. (Shishir Jairam)

Some RDSO certified 60 kg sleepers were placed on the alignment at the proposed Channarayapatna station. These were extra wide presumably for laying of points. (Pawan Koppa)

Huge mounds of ballast were almost completely covered by creepers which indicated that they had been there for a very, very long time and were yet to see any use. (Pawan Koppa)

As we move ahead from Channarayapatna towards the "final point of this new" line, Shravanabelagola, we encounter work in various stages enroute. Dumper lorries unload mud to build up elevation. (Pawan Koppa)

A normal person would be forgiven if he thought this was the base being laid for a new Expressway :-) Work happening on the bangalore-Mangalore Highway four-laning nearby looked pretty similar. This however is a path meant only for heavy metal beasts to t

This time a tractor does the job of moving earth to fill up the void in the elevation! (Pawan Koppa)

The dumper lorry is back for its next load. Work was happening non stop at breakneck speed especially between Channarayapatna and Shravanabelagola which falls under Mysore division. (Pawan Koppa)