The much-anticipated Gadag-Wadi railway line, a 257-km project with an outlay of ₹2,841.8 crore, is set to begin partial operations on Thursday, marking a key milestone in North Karnataka’s connectivity push. Out of the entire stretch, 56.1 km has been completed, while the remaining 201 km awaits construction.

Union Minister of State for Railways V Somanna will flag off the inaugural passenger train from Hubballi to Kushtagi at the Kushtagi station, bringing to life a project rooted in history.

The railway line traces its origin to 1911, when the Nizam of Hyderabad and British India explored the idea. The original budget then was just ₹1.86 crore. It took decades—and the intervention of former MP Basavaraj Rayareddy in 1996—to revive the plan. By 2013-14, it was part of the Railway Budget, following multiple surveys and escalated cost estimates.

The Karnataka government has already contributed ₹489.9 crore to the project by March 2025. Work on segments like Talkal-Sangnal (22km) and Linganbandi-Kushtagi (10.1km) are among those that helped achieve the initial 56.1 km target.

However, the inauguration wasn’t free from politics. Rayareddy, despite lobbying with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw via a letter from CM Siddaramaiah, found the launch held at Kushtagi—not his Yalburga constituency. The move, coordinated by BJP’s Basavaraj Kyavater, left Rayareddy visibly sidelined.

A daily train service is expected to begin soon, though the final schedule is still under preparation.

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