Karnataka lays down 19 conditions for suburban rail network

BENGALURU:  After the detailed project report of the suburban rail network project was given in-principle approval by the Karnataka cabinet on January 10, the State has now issued a nine-page Government Order stating that its approval of the Rs 23,093 crore project is subject to fulfilment of 19 conditions that it has stipulated. 

The gazette notification in this connection was issued on January 16. Among the conditions laid down are the need to have six rail corridors that would connect the outskirts of the city, airport connectivity from KSR Railway Station, a distance of 4-5 km between each of the proposed 81 stations instead of the 1-2 km proposed by consultancy firm RITES in its report, and the need to obtain railway land atRs1 per acre. 

Additional Chief Secretary Mahendra Jain told The New Indian Express, “Basically, the state wants the suburban rail network to cover all the satellite townships. We have given in-principle approval to the feasibility report. We want all the comments, suggestions and conditions to be incorporated in it too.” Asked if fulfilment of most of these conditions was feasible, Jain said, “Let the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) be formed first. If the SPV feels some of the conditions cannot be implemented, we will have a re-look at it. It is not something completely non-negotiable.” The SPV is a joint partnership between the state and Centre with a 51:49 ownership pattern.  

General  Manager of South Western Railway, Ajay Kumar Singh, said, “We will submit the state’s response to the Railway Board on Friday or Monday. It is up to the Railway Board to take a call on it.”
Senior railway officials expressed shock over the conditions specified by the state. An official said, “Our entire project has been basically overwritten. There is no way the Railway Board will sanction the project on these terms. Why will they consent to provide 615 acres of railway land on a lease basis atRs1 per acre? It goes against the policies of the Railway Board.”  

The land in question is prime land in the heart of the city, he added. “Giving up the land for the suburban rail project would put an end to any long-distance expansion of train services. Even if the State were to compensate us for it, it is not worth it from our point of view,” he said, pointing out that asking for a distance of 4 or 5 km between stations defeats the very purpose of a suburban network system. “Popular suburban network in big cities like Mumbai connect only very short distances,” he said.

Call for  expanded  corridor connectivity  
The state has called for the four corridors covering a distance of 161 km, proposed by RITES in its report, to be modified by extending them to six corridors. However, it has not specified the total length it proposes when these extensions are incorporated in the original project. A top government source put it at roughly 270 km.  The order says the Western, North Western and Central part of the city do not have any direct connection to the airport by mass transportation system.

“Hence, there is a need to connect these parts of the city to airport (KSR Bengaluru to Devanahalli) by suburban rail,” it says.  Seeking introduction of monorail services, the notification calls for creating seamless connectivity of airport stop (suburban rail) with Kempegowda International Airport terminal. The state has also listed the order of priority in which the six corridors need to be implemented, listing connectivity from KSR railway station as 
Corridor One:  
1 Corridor 1: KSR Bengaluru City to Devanahalli
2 Corridor 2: Vasanthnarsapura, Tumkur to Baiyappanahalli
3Corridor 3: Ramanagaram to Jnanabharati
4Corridor 3A: Whitefield to Bangarpet
5Corridor 4: Hosur to Doddaballapur
6Corridor 3B: Jnanabharati to Whitefield

UNCERTAINTY LOOMS amid many differences

It is back to the familiar zone of uncertainty for the city’s suburban rail network due to severe difference between the state and the Railways over numerous routes, compensation involved in acquisition of railway land, the crisscrossing with future phases of Namma Metro and even location of the casting yard. 

The New Indian Express was the first to highlight these proposals planned inhouse by the state in its issue dated December 29, 2018. Apart from its three conditions calling for extending the length of the proposed four corridors and creation of two new corridors, listing of priority in which they need to be taken up and connectivity to the Kempe Gowda International Airport from KSR railway station (see box on right), the state has also listed the following conditions: