Karnataka rail projects get ₹7,564 crore in budget, Bengaluru suburban rail sees no hike

The Union Budget 2025-26 has allocated ₹7,564 crore for railway projects in Karnataka, a marginal rise from last year’s ₹7,559 crore. Infrastructure development, particularly in Bengaluru, remains a priority, with continued focus on railway expansion.

Also read: Union Budget 2025 allocates ₹1,717 crore for Bengaluru’s Namma Metro

The Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP) has once again been granted ₹350 crore, the same as last year. The 148-km network, managed by K-RIDE, is expected to ease Bengaluru’s notorious traffic congestion. However, the budget did not address K-RIDE’s request for additional funding to procure rolling stock after the failure of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. The agency had sought an equity-based funding model, but no specific mention was made in the budget.

Other major railway projects in Karnataka also received funding boosts:

• ₹352 crore for quadrupling work on the Cantonment–Whitefield corridor.
• ₹549 crore each for the Gadag-Wadi and Tumakuru-Chitradurga-Davanagere lines.
• ₹434 crore for the Rayadurg-Tumakuru via Kalyandurg project.
• ₹214 crore for the Munirabad-Mahabubnagar line.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Railways V Somanna announced the upcoming launch of non-AC Amrit Bharat trains in the next fiscal year, aimed at providing affordable and comfortable long-distance travel.