The euphoria over the proposed high speed rail travel between Mysuru and Bengaluru with onward journey to Chennai has been described as premature as it is a long gestation project.
There are speculations afresh of high speed travel between the three cities after the National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) invited tenders for survey for identification of overhead and underground utilities along the Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru (CBM) stretch for high speed rail.
However, as per the National Rail Plan (NRP)-India prepared by RITES, there are 13 High Speed Rail corridors including Chennai-Bengaluru-Mysuru and they are supposed to be implemented in a phase-wise manner.
While the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor is supposed to be implemented by 2026, the Delhi-Ahmedabad corridor is scheduled for implementation by 2031 and the Chennai-Mysuru corridor via Bengaluru is slated for implementation in 2051 only and the cost has been pegged at ₹92,400 crore.
The tenders that was floated early this week is for a survey of identification of overhead overground, underground utilities, and identification of power sourcing options for substations along the high speed corridor.
The NHSRCL said it is in the process of preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for a new 450-km-long high speed rail corridor on the CBM stretch and has tentatively identified nine stations including Mysuru, Mandya, Channapatana, Bengaluru, Bangarpet, Chittoor, Arakkonam, Poonamalle and Chennai. The width of Right of Way has been pegged at 30 metres except at stations and depots.
The tender document noted that proposed high speed corridor passes along major expressways and national highways, greenfield areas and may cut through arterial roads of the intermediate city road network along the corridor.
It said there will be large number of overhead, surface and sub-surface utility services such as electrical transmission lines, electric distribution lines, poles, traffic signals, telephone cables, sewers, water mains, storm water drains, gas and oil pipelines along the proposed alignment. They have to be shifted to enable the construction of HSR infrastructure.
The NHSRCL said these utilities may critically affect the construction works and project implementation time schedule and costs, for which necessary planning and action needs to be initiated in advance.
Hence the tender has been invited so that the agency identify the infringing infrastructure such as electrical connections for borewells, railway overhead equipment, telecom towers, telephone lines, signal and telecommunication installations, UGD etc belonging to State and Central Governments and private entities.
But senior officials in the South Western Railway said they are not in the loop and the NHSRCL is a special purpose vehicle implementing it. Based on the survey findings, the feasibility of implementing it and solutions to overcome the impediments will be studied after which the issue of financing the project will be taken up and this is a long gestation project, the officials added.
