KIA Halt station: The rail not taken

Nischith N | NT

Bengaluru Airport is one of the fastest growing airports in Asia, but accessing the same after braving the city’s infamous traffic congestion is a major challenge. The passengers are forced to start from their homes hours before the reporting time to avoid missing the flight.

The only hope for the harried passenger is the proposed Namma Metro to the airport and the extension of suburban train services, but both could easily take around six years to finish.

As a stop-gap, BIAL has built a Halt Station about 4 km from the terminal along the railway track running adjacent to its compound, and also provided complimentary 2-way shuttle bus service between Halt Station and Airport Terminal.

Though the South Western Railways (SWR) started operation to the Halt Station from KSR Bengaluru, Yelahanka, Yeshwantpur and Cantonment stations, it had very few takers and most compartments were empty. Though the ticket was priced at just Rs 10, figures provided by South Western Railways state that the train to and from the airport ran empty on more than 10 rides since the service started. Later it was stopped following the Covid outbreak.

Commuters and transport activists want the train to be revived but they feel care should be taken to ensure that they run at favourable timings. They claim the SWR and BIAL officials did not consult each other in this regard. “We were told that SWR officials have not approached BIAL authority before announcing the timings. It seems that they did this deliberately to ensure that it is a flop. We as a commuter had a lot of hopes on this train, but due to bad timings it failed,” says Manoj L, a software professional and a frequent flyer.

Though each rake can accommodate 610 passengers, the ridership reported was in the single digits. A Railways official stated that they are not able to explain why the figures are so low.

According to the reports, from KSR Railway Station, two trains operated, one at 4:45 am and the other at 9 pm. The one which operates from Yelahanka used to start at 7 am, one from Yeshwantpur started at 8.30 am and the one from Cantonment at 5.55 pm. The five other trains which operate in other directions, from airport to the city, have the earliest one operating at 6.23 am and the last one operating at 10.38 pm.

The halt station was built by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) at a cost of around Rs 3 crore and aimed at benefiting 28,000 airport employees as well as passengers. BIAL also operated free shuttle bus services between the station and terminal. The train ticket fare is between Rs 10 and Rs 15.

The activists, however, point out that the routes, timings, frequency, travel duration were unsuitable and sure to fail. For example, Train 06280 starting at 6pm from Airport Halt Station reached the City at 8.20pm! Unfortunately, no proper review was done to improve services.

Just then, the city faced Covid curbs and in the meantime SWR undertook Electrification of the 24 km long Yelahanka-Devanahalli route.

“Now they are talking about the Metro connection and also the suburban rail, which is a long pending demand for the Bengaluru citizens. But the point is, connecting airports by these two ways will at least take more than 7 years if at all they start work now. But we already have a solution by operating trains to halt stations, which the government should give more importance to,” said Purshotam P, an activist.

SWR had also promised to operate express trains between KSR Bengaluru City and BIAL halt station with limited stops. The railways had also planned to increase the frequency of trains from Yelahanka, Yeshwantpur, KSR Bengaluru City and Whitefield. However, it just remained as a promise.

Reacting on this, SWR official says, “The wait for the electrification is over, and this now helps us to extend MEMU trains.” According to the railways activists, the airport is becoming a destination by itself on account of several projects coming up nearby. Also, flying is no longer a luxury. Common people, village folk have begun taking flights. Trains can provide safe, economical, quick and comfortable options f