Hubballi is the Zonal Headquarters of South Western Railway(SWR), one of the 18 Railway Zones in India. It is also one of the divisional headquarters of SWR (The other two Divisional Headquarters are Bengaluru and Mysuru).
Hubballi Junction is officially called Shri Siddharooda Swamiji Railway Station, Hubballi. It is a major junction for trains originating from Bengaluru, Mumbai, Goa, and Hyderabad, or in other words, it is a major junction between Chennai-Vasco mainline and the Bengaluru-Pune line.
There are 7 railway stations in the city limits of Hubballi-Dharwad. They are SSS Hubballi Jn, Unkal, Amargol, Navalur, Dharwad, Hubballi South, and Kyarkoppa.
History
The Southern Mahratta Railway company was formed on 1 June 1882 with its headquarters at Dharwad. The Loco, Carriage, and Wagon workshop at Hubballi was established in the year 1885 under Southern Mahratta Railway (SMR).
The Southern Mahratta Railway opened the 130 Km long Hubballi–Harihar railway line on 18th October 1886.
Read more about Carriage Repair Workshop, Hubballi, and the importance of Hubballi Dharwad to Indian Railways here – Prominence of Hubballi Dharwad in Indian Railways.
World’s Longest Platform
SSS Hubballi Jn will soon have the longest platform in the World. The current length of the platform is around 550 meters. It was decided earlier to extend it to 1,400 meters but later SWR decided to increase the length to 1,505 meters.
Read More here – Hubballi to get World’s Longest Railway Platform.
Dharwad Railway Station Redevelopment
Dharwad Railway Station is undergoing a major revamp at a cost of ₹40Crores. The station will have a new terminal and additional platforms. Lifts will be installed to enable easy movement of passengers from one platform to another.
Also, Dharwad Railway Station will get a Vertical Garden which will be the first of its kind in North Karnataka. The Railway Station building will be covered by more than 3,600 ornamental plants at a cost of ₹10 Lakhs.
Diesel Loco Shed, Hubballi
Sprawling across 75 acres, the state-of-the-art Diesel Loco Shed, Hubballi was established in June 1999. The Loco Shed was built to house Eco-friendly and High powered locomotives, in collaboration with General Motors(GM) of the USA.
The Shed was opened with 12 Imported Locos in 1999, but it has grown in strength mainly after manufacturing of Locos started in Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), Varanasi.
The present Loco holding of DLS, Hubballi is 195 as detailed below.
ಗದಗ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದ ಡಿಸೈಲ ಲೋಕೊ ಶೆಡ್ ಹಾಳು ಮಾಡಿದರು. ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಹೊರಡುವ ಹಲವು ರೈಲುಗಳನ್ನು ತೆಗೆದುಹಾಕಿದರು. ಗದಗ-ವಾಡಿ ನೇರ ರೈಲುಮಾರ್ಗ ತಳಕಲ್-ವಾಡಿ ಎಂದು ಬದಲಾವಣೆ ಮಾಡಿ ಇದು ಹೈದರಾಬಾದ್ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭವಾಗಿ ಅಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಕೊನೆಗೊಳ್ಳುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿದರು. ಮಂಜೂರು ಮಾಡಿದ ಗದಗ-ಯಲವಿಗಿ ಮಾರ್ಗ ಭೂಸ್ವಾಧೀನ ಮಾಡಿ ಅಗತ್ಯ ಕ್ರಮ ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳದೆ ಲಕ್ಷಾಂತರ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರಿಗೆ ತೊಂದರೆ ಮಾಡಿದರು. ಗದಗ-ಪಂಡರಪುರ ಪ್ಯಾಸೆಂಜರ್/ಎಕ್ಸ್ ಪ್ರೆಸ್ ರೈಲು ಮಂಜೂರು ಮಾಡಿದರು ಪ್ರಾರಂಭ ಮಾಡಿಲ್ಲ, ಗದಗ-ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಇಂಟರಸಿಟಿ ಎಕ್ಸ್ ಪ್ರೆಸ್ ವಿದ್ಯುತ್ ಮಾರ್ಗವಾದ ಬಳಿಕ ಮಾಡುವೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿದರು ಇನ್ನೂ ಮಾಡಿಲ್ಲ. ಗದಗ-ಹರಪನಹಳ್ಳಿ ಮಾರ್ಗ ಮತ್ತು ಗದಗ-ಕೃಷ್ಣಾ ಮಾರ್ಗ ಇನ್ನೂ ಮಾಡಲು ಮುಂದಾಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಹೀಗೆ ಗದಗ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಹಲವಾರು ಬೇಡಿಕೆ ಇಲಾಖೆಗೆ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರಿಗೆ, ಉದ್ದಿಮೆದಾರರಿಗೆ ಲಾಭದಾಯಕ.
ಗದಗ-ಹೊಂಬಳ-ನರಗುಂದ-ಸವದತ್ತಿ ರಸ್ತೆ-ಯರಗಟ್ಟಿ-ಗೋಕಾಕ್ ರಸ್ತೆ ಹೊಸ ರೈಲು ಮಾರ್ಗ ಮಾಡಿ ಇದು 110ಕಿಮೀ ಇದೆ ಗದಗ-ಹೊಂಬಳ ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ರೈಲು ಮಾರ್ಗ ಇದೆ.