Bengaluru: The speed of execution of the much-awaited Bengaluru suburban rail project or the Bengaluru Commuter Rail is slowly picking up after multiple delays. Preliminary works on one of the four corridors have begun recently and the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (KRIDE ) invited tenders for another corridor of the Rs 15,767-crore project. The bid process for supplying locomotives has also started.
The tender for the construction and civil works of the 46.8 km-long Kanaka Line (corridor-4), between Heelalige and Rajanakunte via Yelahanka of the 148 km project was invited last week. The deadline for submission of bids is April 27.
The tender for the 25-km-long Mallige line (Byappanahalli-Yeshwantpur-Chikkabanavara) was awarded to Larsen & Toubro and the work order was issued in August 2022. The preliminary work has already been started. Availability of railway rand was a major hurdle for this corridor and the Railways recently handed over 157 acres of land for the first phase of construction of the Mallige line.
All about Bengaluru suburban rail project
With the Bengaluru Commuter Rail, the railway authorities and city administration is hoping to establish a rail network to link the heart of the city to its suburbs and satellite townships, as well as surrounding rural areas by a rail-based rapid-transit system. In the words of the Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, it will be a "world-class suburban system on the lines of Mumbai suburban rail for Bengaluru with modern coaches at a lesser cost".
The suburban rail will cover 148.17 kilometres in four corridors and will have 57 stations. The network will be built in six directions – towards Devanahalli (Kolar side), Kengeri (Mysuru side), Rajanukunte (Doddaballapura side), Chikkabanavara (Tumakuru side), Whitefield (Bangarapet side) and Heelalige.
Each corridor has been named after regional flowers found in and around the city.
Corridor-1 Sampige Line: From KSR Bengaluru City (Majestic) to Devanahalli, with 15 stations and covering 41.40 kilometres.
Corridor-2 Mallige Line: From Baiyappanahalli Terminal to Chikkabanavara, covering 14 stations and running across 25 kilometres.
The stations in this stretch include Byappanahalli, Kasturinagar, Sevanagar, Banaswadi, Nagawara, Kanakanagar, Hebbal, Lottegollahalli, Yeshwantpur, Jalahalli, Shettihalli, Myadarahalli, and Chikkabanavara.
Corridor-3 Parijata Line: From Kengeri to Whitefield, covering 35.52 kilometres with 19 stations.
Corridor-4 Kanaka Line: From Heelalige to Rajankute with 19 stations along the 46.24-km-long rail route.
This stretch will have 19 stations: Rajanakunte, Muddenahalli, Yelahanka, Jakkur, Hegde Nagar, Thannisandra, Hennur, Horamavu, Channasandra, Bennigenahalli, Kaggadaspura, Marathahalli, Bellandur Road, Carmelaram, Ambedkar Nagar, Huskur, Singara Agrahara, Bommasandra and Heelalige.
The tender processes of the Sampige and Parijata lines are yet to be intimated by K-RIDE, which is a joint venture of the Karnataka government and the Railway Ministry of Railway is in charge of the project.
How it benefits the city
Once operational, the network is likely to significantly address the traffic menace of the IT city as it would pull out a huge number of vehicles from the roads. The network is expected to serve around 10 lakh commuters daily.
The rail will ensure multimodal connectivity with all other modes of public transport in the city, facilitating hassle-free transit. According to K-RIDE, it will be India’s most integrated rail project.
The project has been pending for nearly 40 years since it was first proposed.
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