RITES bags bid to execute rail line electrification project

RITES Ltd. (formerly Railway India Technical and Economic Services) has bagged the contract for electrification of about 400 km railway line in the State, including the 300-km Mysuru-Hassan-Mangaluru line.

A public sector undertaking of the Ministry of Railways, RITES recently informed the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange that it bagged the contract from the Railway Ministry, being the lowest bidder for railway electrification work on turnkey basis.

The electrification work of Mysuru-Hassan-Mangaluru (300 km) also includes electrification of Arsikere-Hassan (47 km) line, RITES said.

It would also electrify the 45-km line between Kadur and Chikkamagaluru in Chikkamagaluru district. All these lines come under the Mysuru Division of South Western Railway (SWR). The total estimated cost of the project is ₹461.23 crore.

Union Budget 2018 provided for electrification of Mysuru-Mangaluru Railway line at an estimated cost of ₹315 crore.

Following the Railway Ministry’s decision to encourage its PSUs to participate in the tender process involving railway infrastructure, RITES too submitted its bid for the project.

Sources in the SWR told The Puucho that though the contract has been awarded to RITES, a memorandum of understanding is yet to be signed between the Zone and RITES.

Once the MoU and agreement are finalised, the modalities of executing the contract will be known, they said and added that the work has to get completed by June 2024 anyway as per the direction of the Railway Ministry.

Electrification of Chikkabanavara-Hassan stretch of Bengaluru-Hassan direct line is being executed separately. The execution of the railway electrification on the Mysuru-Mangaluru line will be challenging for RITES, as the line passes through the verdant Western Ghats between Sakleshpur and Subrahmanya Road (55 km) stations, dubbed as the “green route”.

The broad gauge line passes through 57 tunnels and 109 bridges, both small and big, with an elevation difference of about 780 m.

While Sakleshpur is located at an altitude of 906 m MSL, Subrahmanya Road is located at an altitude of 120 m MSL.

Erecting the overhead equipment, including the poles and the power cables, along this narrow stretch will pose challenges to RITES engineers with the region witnessing heavy to very heavy rainfall during the monsoon.

Sources in RITES Bengaluru office told The Puucho that its headquarters wants the Bengaluru unit to execute the project. Details will be known shortly, they added.