Gadag - Wadi New Line.
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This is one new line I was hoping that the work starts and moves along fast. Because if all the new lines being built in KA are seen, this line connects the most number of urban centers with more population, which hitherto had no rail connectivity like Yelaburga, Lingsugur, Shahpura, Kushtagi, Surapura, Kuknoor etc......
So in...
more...

the hope of finding if work has commenced and what exactly is the status, I undertook the journey on Monday.
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Everything from the beginning went wrong. Just kept missing one bus after another and then waited at many places and finally reached Halagere Cross. From here I started asking people where the new line was being built. Then after lot of vague answers I found that the line was starting somewhere in between Bhanapur and Bannikoppa stations.
My first instinct was to go to Talakal, the village where the line deviates from. Then I decided on the spur of the moment to let go of the bus bound to Talakal and waited for the Kuknoor bus. It came after waiting for some time - bad luck continued. The decision was same as what I did last year at BGK. First I decided to go see the bifurcation point and see the development. Then I decided to go to the last station to know what was being done further too... So I had gone to Khajjidoni, the last station.
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So now on Kuknoor bus, I had a glimpse of the Bhanapur station (Pic 8, 10) and when the bus was waiting for the BZA train to pass, I just asked the driver, where the new line work was going on in Kuknoor and how far was it from the bus stand. He replied that no work can be seen near Kuknoor Bus stand, he only knew that at Yelaburga work was going on. This was great news indeed, because I had thought that with available funds (state has already acquired and handed over the land from Talakal to Kushtagi to IR) they will first use the fund to complete the line till Kuknoor. But this news of the work being done at one the driest, backward taluk HQ was indeed good news as it indicates that funds are sufficiently available and instead of meandering along at a glacial pace little by little, they were seriously working on this line with some 25-30 Kms being covered initially.
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So I continued my journey to Yelaburga on the same bus. And my co-passenger showed me the basic levelling work that was completed as we approached the town.
On either side (Pics 1 & 3 one side, Pics 2, 4, 5, 6 - the other side) the land has being levelled. Still the elevated track bed needs to be prepared. And a lot more work to come. But for now I was happy to have seen the work and the fact that it is being seriously taken about.
This place where the track path is being worked upon, is around 1 Km or so from the bus stand. I wanted to go and see and take more pics and speak to someone, to know what was the status of the Talakal-Kuknoor section, but I couldn't. I was tired and it was scorching hot. So thought this info and pics would suffice for now.
My co-passenger did say that the station will be built where the Bevuru road (Pic 5) intersects this line , so that the station is right next to the road - I took his word for it. But still those work has not started yet.
Earlier at Halagere, I learnt that near Talakal , the earthworks, meaning the elevated track bed work, was being done. Though tired, I still didn't want to miss this opportunity to have one glimpse at what was being done from Talakal to Kuknoor. So took another bad decision and got off the Koppala bus at Kuknoor to take a bus to Bannikoppa station (Pic 13 - LC). My bad luck continued with the delayed buses :(
Finally I got a bus, and kept looking out, but nothing..... so the people at Halagere were right. They had told me "You need to go by your own vehicle to see the work. You can neither see it by travelling on Bhanapur- Kuknoor road or Kuknoor-Bannikoppa road."
Anyway, I was finally satisfied to have atleast seen some progress, if not all.
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The Shahpura-Wadi section land too has been acquired by the state and handed over to IR. But no funds, so no work on the other end.
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One good thing came off the last journey. I saw the the ancient Mahadeva Temple at Itagi click here Not as famous as the UNESCO tagged Hampi, but still famous in these parts. Pics 9, 11, 12.
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Not tagged any station. I just want this to be a standalone travelogue post for those who are interested about this line.
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