Suburban Rail: Light at the end of tunnel

Nischith N | NT

This project was seen as an antidote to Bengaluru’s traffic woes, but it took two decades for the state and central governments to say ‘yes’ to it. Though the Union government sanctioned it in October 2020, the work on the project is yet to begin. It is now expected to commence by April first week. The project has been divided into four corridors and though experts had stressed on completing the airport corridor on priority, it has been ignored by the government, Nischith N., reports.

More than two decades after it was conceived, the suburban railway line project continues to languish on paper. Despite being sanctioned by the Union government in October 2020, there has been little change in the ground situation.

Transport experts feel the suburban railways will be the best antidote to the city’s perennial traffic mess. The Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP) is being executed by Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Company (K-RIDE), a joint venture of the Union and state government. However, since the announcement, no work has been taken up so far.

In October 2020, the Union government had categorically mentioned that the project in its entirety must be finished within six years since the date of sanction, KRIDE, a joint venture company of Karnataka government (51%) and Union ministry of railways (49%) is executing this project.

Experts have suggested that the airport-city line should be built on a priority basis and completed within three years. The state government’s Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), too, has concurred with this view. However, in January 2021, the K-RIDE prioritised other lines instead, thereby disappointing rail activists.

The four corridors are – Bengaluru City to Yelahanka to Devanahalli (41.40 km), Baiyappanahalli to Chikabanavara (25.01 km), Kengeri to Whitefield (35.52 km) and Heelalige to Rajanakunte (46.24 km).

“The Government of India has finally recognized the importance of Suburban Rail, later it was directed to the budget direction given to Railways to invest more in Suburban Rail and also through SPV. Railways and State government should take this forward and provide good Urban Transport. Specifically, Karnataka state should move quickly on suburban rail for Bengaluru, Hubli-Dharwad, Mysuru,” says Krishna Prasad, activist.

In a recent Legislative Council meeting, Karnataka Infrastructure Development and Housing Minister V Somanna also informed that the project was delayed due to land acquisition issues.

But in the updated information provided by the railways, about 85 per cent of the land required for executing BSRP is already available and also the process of acquiring the remaining land is in an advanced stage. Tenders for physical work are at different stages of finalisation.

Also as on January 31, approximately Rs 103.8 crore has been spent on BSRP. “K-RIDE has completed preparatory activities such as approval of technical documents, geo-technical investigation, identification of utilities to be shifted, and negotiations for external funding. Also the representatives of the lending agencies have come on an assessment visit. At this stage that is a preliminary meeting and they have come to study the project in detail,” says a senior Railways official.

According to the reports, in a recent green signal by the finance ministry for external funding of Rs 15,767-crore for the project, an eight-member delegation of foreign funding agencies recently met top officials of the State government.

The 148.17-km K-RIDE project has been tasked with mobilising Rs 7,438 crore through external borrowings, while much of the remaining amount will be shared between the central government and the state government. CM Basavraj Bommai, in his maiden budget speech, had reiterated that the BSRP will be ready in six years.

“Finally the Government recognized the importance of Railway infrastructure and more investment was needed. But in a recent budget, there is not much clarity regarding suburban rail funds allocation by the state government. One needs to see the fine print for funds allocation. No strict timelines have been drawn by the Karnataka government and need regular review by the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary along with MPs and MLAs,” Krishna Prasad further added.

According to K-RIDE officials, the tender process for the Suburban Rail project is a complex one with multiple levels of appreciation and acceptance and thus the process can be time-consuming. It is said that K-RIDE is expecting to finalise the tender by the middle of March and the on-ground civil work will start by the first week of April.

Tenders have already been floated for civil works for the Mallige Line – the 25-km long line between Baiyappanahal