 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(February 2024) |
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 10-South Western Railway | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Rail Soudha, Gadag RoadHubballiKarnataka |
| Locale | Karnataka,Andhra Pradesh,Goa,Tamil Nadu andMaharashtra |
| Dates of operation | 2003; 22 years ago (2003)– |
| Predecessor | Southern Railway zone South Central Railway zone Central Railway zone |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | Broad gauge (1676mm, 5'6") |
| Previous gauge | Meter gauge |
| Electrification | 1,233 kilometres (766 mi) |
| Length | 3,566 kilometres (2,216 mi) |
| Other | |
| Website | www |
TheSouth Western Railway (abbreviatedSWR) is one of the 19railway zones ofIndian Railways, headquartered atHubballi in theIndian state ofKarnataka.[1] SWR was created from carving out the routes fromSouthern Railways,South Central Railways andCentral Railways in 2003.
The South Western Railway zone came into existence on 1 April 2003 by bifurcating Mysuru and Bengaluru divisions from Southern Railway along with Hubballi division from South Central Railway. It is headquartered atHubballi and comprises three divisions namelyHubballi,Mysuru, andBengaluru. The fourth division atKalaburagi was slated to be the fourth division which was supposed to be carved out from Hubli, Secunderabad, Guntakal and Solapur divisions. Currently the divisional office at Kalaburagi is on hold due to operational constraints.[2]
South Western Railway covers most of the railway lines in the state ofKarnataka andGoa except theKonkan Railway line, parts ofSri Sathya Sai district andChittoor district in Andhra Pradesh,Krishnagiri district, parts ofDharmapuri district andTirupathur district of Tamil Nadu and parts ofSangli district andSolapur district of Maharashtra. SWR also operates and maintainsMangalore–Hassan–Mysore line railway track.
The Mysuru Division of South Western Railways will be designated as "Digital Division" after fully adopting its current technology harnessing programme. The government of India had asked Railways divisions to cut red tape and reduce paperwork in offices. All the officials will adopt technologies like WhatsApp and Google Drive to share reports and other documents. This will save a lot of papers being used for circulating reports as done currently. Two web-based helplines have been launched so that digitised information can be shared among different officials. The inspection reports regarding maintenance, passenger amenities, cleanliness, electronics, and communication, etc. will be managed by a new software which is under construction now. These measures will cut down redundant works, reduce number of registers and reports maintained by officials, reduce paper consumption and improve the efficiency and celerity of operations.[3]
In 2025SWR has enhanced speed on 835 kilometers of track, which saves up to an hour in traveling time for both people and goods. This has resulted in better logistics, more punctuality, and economic growth.[4]
