After a delay of nearly a year-and-a-half, the State government has set a deadline to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to implement the sub-urban rail system in the city.
In a high-level meeting headed by the chief minister on Wednesday, it was decided that an SPV will be formed within a month. In the proposed SPV, the Railways will have a share of 49%, with the State government holding 51%.
The State government has already sanctioned ₹350 crore, out of which ₹100 crore has been deposited with the Railways. Under the sub-urban railway plan, there is a proposal to build a rail network of 161 kilometres with 28 stations to decongest traffic on the roads. There is a plan to provide 116 rail services by spending Rs. 1,745 crore. The project will focus on optimum utilisation of the 444 kilometres of existing railway network in the city.
DPR expected in January
A.K. Gupta, General Manager of South Western Railway (SWR), told the The Hindu that RITES is preparing a detailed project report (DPR), and is expected to complete the task by January. “The Railways has agreed to the proposal of the Karnataka government on cost-sharing to operate the SPV, and things are on track. We are waiting for the DPR from RITES,” said Mr. Gupta.
Niti Ayog member V.K. Saraswat was also present at the meeting.
The move has been welcomed by citizens who have been fighting for a robust sub-urban rail system in Bengaluru.
Transport expert Sanjeev V. Dyamannanavar said, “After a long delay, the authorities have finally taken a positive step. Issues like cost-sharing, commitment on providing land and others have dragged a decision on the SPV. It’s formation will give impetus to the project, as there will designated officers. Regular meetings on implementation will be held.”
On Wednesday, Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) had submitted a requisition to the CM to form the SPV at the earliest and give clearance to quadrupling of tracks between Cantonment and Whitefield.