The Bangalore–Arsikere–Hubli line is a major railway line in the Indian state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

connecting state capital

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

with city of

Hubballi Hubli (officially Hubballi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad district of Ka ...

in north-central Karnataka. It traverses across Karnataka and links several cities of Karnataka, including

Tumakuru Tumkur, officially Tumakuru, is a city and headquarters of Tumakuru district in the Karnataka state of India. Tumkur is known for Siddaganga Matha. Tumkur hosts India's first mega food park, a project of the ministry of food processing. The Indi ...

Kadur Kaduru, also known as Kadur, is a town in the district and a taluk in Chikmagalur district, in Karnataka. It is located at in the rain shadow region of western ghats in the Malenadu region. Most of the taluk is dry, unlike much of the distri ...

Davanagere Dāvanagere is a city in the centre of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the seventh largest city in the state, and the administrative headquarters of eponymous Davangere district. Hitherto being a cotton hub and hence popularly kno ...

Haveri Haveri or Hāvēri is a city and headquarters of Haveri district of Karnataka State in India. Haveri is famous for its cardamom garlands, Byadagi red chillies and Hukkeri Math. Around 25 km away, there is a place called Bada, which is the b ...

and

. Currently, 29 pairs of trains operate in this route, out of which 8 are daily services. Apart from this, this route also links Karnataka with other states, such as

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

and

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

. This route is also a major feeder line for iron ore, coal and steel hauling freight trains originating from

Ballari district Ballari, formerly Bellary (pronounced ), is a major district in Karnataka. It is located at north-eastern part of Karnataka. This district belongs to Kalyana-Karnataka. This district was one of the biggest districts in Karnataka until the Vi ...

towards the Ports of

(via Braganza Ghats) and

Mangaluru Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the stat ...

(via Shiradi Ghats). The maximum operating speed of this route is 110 km/h for passenger trains and 75 km/h for freight trains. The fastest passenger service in this line is KSR Bengaluru–Dharawad vande bharat Express, which covers the two cities in 6h 40m, at an average speed of 76 km/h.

Main line and branches

The main line which is of Bangalore–Arsikere–Hubli section is 469 km in length. this line has five branches * First branch line which is from Chikkabanavara to Arsikere via Shravanabelagola Hassan is 211 km in length. * Second branch line which is from Kadur to Chikkamagluru is 45 km in length. * Third branch line which is from Birur to Talguppa is 160 km in length. * Fourth branch line which is from Chickjajur to Bellary is 185 km in length. * Fifth branch line is from Amaravathi colony junction after Davangere station to Hosapet junction which is 135 km in length.

Doubling and electrification

As of June 2023, the entire stretch is fully electrified and electrification of loop lines at some stations between Haveri and hubballi is in progress and is expected to be completed by end of June 2023. A trial run of vande bharat express was also conducted on June 19 from KSR Bengaluru to Dharawad before its inaugural run on 27 June.

References

5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India Rail transport in Karnataka Transport in Hubli-Dharwad Transport in Bengaluru Urban district Transport in Bangalore Rural district {{India-rail-transport-stub