The anticipated project for a 2^nd railway terminal for the city may not happen due any sooner due to the current importance on the capacity of the track and increasing facilities for the passengers. The Railway Board has highlighted the current focus of authorities to the divisional and zonal railway officials to use the MPLAD money to increase passenger services. The time span to finish the track which will double between Tumakuru to Arsikere and Chikjajur to Hubbali shows the focus of the Indian Railways.

The 2^nd terminal for Mysore was proposed at the Belagola. The Divisional Railway Manager, Vinod Kumar had specified that this project will be a part of the approved developments and would come in force soon. The main objective is to reduce the pressure at Mysuru railway station. And for that the objective was to build 2 or 3 stabling lines with a pit line for care at the cost of Rs. 28 crores.

If sources are to be believed, all the projects involving heavy investments are put on hold currently and the main emphasis is on finishing the works in progress without any interruptions. The requirement for the second terminal was important because of the increased train traffic to Mysuru.

The current facilities at the station:

Presently the station has six platforms and handles around 42 trains daily but the numbers are expected to rise up gradually. But the irony in the situation is that new and additional trains can’t be announced without an increase in the capacity of the Mysore station which is closed in. There will be a need for new yards to accommodate new trains, and this cannot be proposed for now. Hence, it was suggested that Belagola can be developed as a 2^nd terminal line and all the passengers and express trains would depart towards the Hassan to Ariskere line from there.

This idea would reduce the entire load on Mysuru station if it would have accommodated additional trains for passengers. But railway sources have denied any proposal of such a project for now. The other considered station for a possible terminal was Ashokapuram. But the station has a limitation when it comes to land.

Another alternative was to expand some trains up to Chamarajanagar, but this idea required them to create a new maintenance plot, which would not be possible due to the scarcity of water in that district.

The current railway projects are developing quickly and hopefully, Mysuru stations will announce new trains.

Suresh Prabhu has announced investments of rupees 8.50 lakh crore in the coming five years for the rail sector in Haryana on 13^th August. The Railway Minister, also the Rajya Sabha MP from the state Haryana, has guaranteed that there will be a rail coach factory set up in Haryana to strengthen the Indian Railways.

He also stated that to give passengers a swift and smooth journey. Not just this, but there are going to be around 400 top-notch railway stations made all overour country. The Indian Railways will also make a deal with the state for setting up a SPV- Special Purpose Vehicle for theimplementation of railway projects. The minister also added that these 400 stations will have modern amenities. Union Cabinet ensures the approval to set up the railway stations.

The Railway Minister is happy that everyone in the assembly liked his investment idea. He also added that he had shown a report citing around 79 points for the improvement of the railway facilities and most of them are already considered.

The Minister also told that earlier they used to only announce important needs while the current government and state considers executing these important ideas. He also added that NDA government which is led by Narendra Modi, do the work first and announce later.

While discussingthe demands mentioned by Chief Minister Khattar to put new railways lines, Suresh Prabhu promised him that the hard work will be put in to accomplish all the demands. The Chief Minister also raised some demands for few railway lines like – Jakhal-Ratia to Fatehabad line, Karnal to Yamumunagar line, Rewari to Palwal via Bhiwadi line, Hisar to Sirsa via Agroha to Fatehabadline and few others.

The Chief said that the Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu has a special bond with state as he is the Rajya Sabha member from Haryana. The Chief Minister also added that the Railway Minister has planned on starting new services for the statein which Ambulance vehicles will be having a ventilator, and this will be provided to every district for the betterment of the treatment to all the patients. He also added that SPV (Special purpose vehicle) would be in alliance with Railways in order to advance several rail developments in Haryana.

An official MOU will be signed soon with Indian Railways to start the development. Also, there will be ROBs (railway over bridges) and RUBs (railway under bridges) constructed soon at the crossings in the state.

With the Railway Minister going all enthusiastic about the rail sector, the industry will benefit a lot and soon we will have modernised railway stations all across the country.

With the Indian Railways evolving so much, now it is coming out with yet another benefit for the passengers. The Railways is planning a facility, which will send out SMS alerts to the passengers on delay in train arrivals. This will lessen the hassle at the stations and for the passengers too.  Apart from this, they are also planning to set up around 4,615 water vending machines at many railway stations. This amenity is one of the best things that railway stations will have.

The Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha stated that SMS service on train delays is under consideration at the moment. He also added that the capacity of e-ticket system is expanded and currently as many as 7200 tickets can be booked per minute. Not just this, but he said there will be an increase in this system too. The railway has taken a lot of measures to make booking and reservations of tickets easier and user-friendly, he said. The minister said that water vending machines are being set up by the Indian Railways Catering and tourism Corporation to provide people low cost and clean drinking water. He added that at the moment shortlisting of agencies for water vending machines has been completed and about 4615 vending machines are to be installed in a phased manner at crowded stations.

With 5800 unreserved ticketing system counters across several locations and around 1500 automatic ticket vending machines at the stations, passengers are getting several perks through the Indian Railways. The estimated rate per vending machine for the water is between Rs. 5 to Rs. 7 lakhs. Not just this, but people will have to pay around Rs. 2 to 3 per machine.

The minister also stated regarding the ticketing systems that some instances of booking of tickets by individual for commercial benefits have been reported but a lot of checks have come in the picture to solve this problem.

Train travellers can opt for online services to check online to track train status and availability of seats. If you are in a hush-hush situation, then avoid that by visiting www.travelkhana.com. Apart from providing great food in trains, they also have services in which you can search trains if you are changing in between stations. Find out if the desired train has seats empty and then you can book it from the IRCTC website. At TravelKhana, you can put in the train details from your mobile phone or laptop and find out the departure and arrival time within few seconds. This facility is helpful for those, who are unaware of the appropriate timings of all the trains they will take.

With so many simple and easy amenities, the train travellers are in luck. Thanks to the Indian Railways and websites like TravelKhana to come to passengers rescue when they need it the most. So, if you are planning a train trip soon, make sure you check your train timings until SMS alert systems begin. Also, check for water vending machines at your respective station.