Karnataka Govt seeks approval of Bengaluru Suburban Rail project

New Delhi (Urban Transport News): After meeting with Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State Suresh Angadi in New Delhi on Friday, Bangalore Central MP PC Mohan said that the union minister expressed his consent in implementing the long-awaited Bengaluru Suburban rail project. PC Mohan requested both Ministers to speed up approvals for the long-standing Bengaluru Suburban railway project so that dreams of many in Bengaluru may change into reality. Confirming the meeting, MP PC Mohan wrote on Twitter,

Today I met Railway Minister Shri Piyush Goyal & took up the issue of delay in Bengaluru Sub Urban Rail project. Requested him to fast-track approvals so that work on the project can start this year. Minister assured his commitment & help for speedy completion of the project.

He further said that he has emphasized on the scope of the city to house suburban rail for an effective mass transportation system. It will not only reduce the city traffic by providing quality service for the passengers but also will cut down the use of private vehicles by individuals.

A report prepared by the railway consultancy firm Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) says that Suburban Rail will cater for more than 35 lakh passengers every day, reducing the traffic congestion by nearly 25%. After sharing the information on tweeter, several individuals and citizen groups began voicing their demands for the implementation of the same project started flooding on his tweets. Some people started writing appreciations and congratulatory messages for the effort taken towards making the project into reality.

Many users also pointed out and demanded more trains or an increase in the frequency of trains plying between Byappanahalli and Whitefield. A user tweets, “Sir ask for more trains in peak time n frequent no of trains from Byappanahalli to Whitefield n further at 8-11am n 4-8 pm as the metro is connected from city to Byappanahalli so no of ppl can benefit from dis n ask to elevate d crossing so traffic problem s won’t Der.”

SWR will implement five projects

A high -level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar with top officials has decided that five projects totaling Rs 1745 crore will be implemented by the Indian Railways through its constructions office functioning under the control of the South Western Railway (SWR). Highly placed sources said that the SPV will go ahead with the implementation of the Rs 22,242 crore Bengaluru suburban railway project after a decision on the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is taken by the Central Government.

Sanctioned projects

Out of the Rs 1,745 crore projects, the doubling between Baiyappanahalli and Hosur (Rs 424 crore), the doubling line between Yesvantpur-Lottegahalli-Hebbal-Banaswadi-Baiyappanahalli-Channasandra (Rs 170 cr), conversion of 15 DEMU rakes to MEMU ones (Rs 56 crore) and procurement of 11 MEMU rakes (Rs 400 crore) have already been sanctioned by the Centre. Sources said that automatic signaling work between Baiyappnahalli and Hosur, Baiyappanahalli-Yesvantpur-Tumukuru, Bengaluru-Mandya and Yesvantpur, and Yelahanka are still awaiting approval. The Bengaluru suburban project will be implemented with 20% share each by the state and the Centre and 60% mobilized via the formation of an SPV.

K-RIDE gets new Managing Director

SWR Construction Engineer Amit Garg has been selected as the first Managing Director of The Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Enterprises (K-RIDE). The Bengaluru Rail Infrastructure Development Enterprises (B-RIDE), which is under the formation process, will carry out the suburban rail project for the city. With the intervention of the MP into the matter, rail commuters and residents of Bengaluru are now hopeful of seeing Suburban trains ply in and around the city soon.