Mooted 37 yrs ago, 148km Bengaluru suburban rail project wins nod

BENGALURU/ NEW DELHI: Bengalureans grappling with notorious traffic snarls got relief on Wednesday when the Union cabinet cleared the long-pending 148km Bengaluru suburban rail project, sources said. No official announcement was made due to the election code of conduct in place for the November 3 Rajarajeshwarinagar byelection.
Sources said the project was discussed and cleared at Wednesday’s cabinet meeting. Railway minister Piyush Goyal said in New Delhi: “We can’t discuss or give any information (on the project) as the poll code of conduct is in force in Bengaluru.”
A source said the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) has given the nod for suburban rail project.
This will be the country’s first modern suburban train system. The Railway Board cleared the project, mooted 37 years ago and announced in the 2018-19 budget, in November 2019. It was awaiting the CCEA’s approval.
The project will comprise four corridors: KSR Bengaluru City-Devanahalli, Byappanahalli-Chikkabanavara, Kengeri-Cantonment-Whitefield and Heelalige-Rajanukunte.
Tenders for civil work to be floated soon
South Western Railway (SWR) sources confirmed the CCEA has cleared the project, which will be executed by Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Ltd, an SPV of the railway ministry and Karnataka government. KRIDE will soon float tenders for civil work, a source said.
Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya told TOI the project will take off soon. Mohan said he has been following up the project for several years. Surya thanked the Prime Minister for the project, which, he said, will be a “next-generation infrastructure facility”.
Automated fare gates
Commuter trains on the proposed network will be similar to those of the Metro. There will be automated fare collection gates for smart card-based cashless travel. Fifty-three AC trains with automated slide doors may be deployed in the first phase.
Railway sources said the minimum fare could be Rs 13 for less than 3km. In Chennai and Mumbai, a train trip for a similar distance costs Rs 5. “For a 15km trip, the fare will be Rs 35 as opposed to Rs 45 in Metro,” an official said.