Karnataka minister MB Patil welcomes talks on Bengaluru-Mumbai rail link, seeks implementation
In his statement, the Minister said that the initiative should go beyond discussions and be implemented.
His remarks came after the union budget announced two high-speed rail corridors, one connecting Bengaluru and Hyderabad and the other connecting Bengaluru and Chennai.
“There should be an efficient and world-class connectivity system between the technology capital Bengaluru and the financial capital Mumbai,” the minister said in a statement.
Earlier this week, on January 3, Patil wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other union ministers, including Nirmala Sitharaman, Ashwini Vaishnaw, that the proposed corridor across Karnataka covers only 100 kilometres. “As the government has already announced a high-speed rail project between Pune and Mumbai, extending it to Bengaluru will significantly increase its utility,” the minister said.
The two rail corridors running through the state are among seven high-speed rail corridors the union budget announced Sunday. However, the minister said districts like Davangere, Hubballi and Belagavi will benefit from a corridor passing through Bengaluru-Pune-Mumbai.
Patil said he supported the initiative led by union ministers Prahlad Joshi and HD Kumaraswamy and urged stakeholders not to politicize the issue. According to media reports, the ministers met union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday to discuss the project.
The minister also said he found it encouraging that union ministers were showing interest in the issue.
