JOIN USThe city’s 33-year-old desire for a dedicated suburban train network took the form of an unusual campaign on Saturday.
About 1,000 citizens boarded a train from Cantonment to Whitefield, two bustling hubs within Bengaluru, to send out the emphatic message that a two-hour road trip can be covered in 35 minutes flat.
Dubbed Chuku Buku Beku (we want trains), the symbolic journey was intended to draw the attention of the state government, the Centre and the Railways to introduce suburban trains.
Among the campaigners were students and elders, who had lined up to board the Bengaluru City-Bangarpet train from Cantonment and Baiyappanahalli stations.
The campaign was spearheaded by Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB), the same group that had vociferously protested the controversial steel flyover project. With several allied organisations, it had been preparing for Saturday’s Chuku Buku Beku campaign for weeks.
The issue had sparked debates on social media, college campuses and offline forums. When the train trip ended at the Whitefield station, the commuters reviewed their journey: in less than 30 minutes, they had covered the entire stretch, paying a fare of just Rs 10.
Among them was Prashanth Srinivas, who said it was possible to introduce more trains using the city’s existing railway network. “For this, the South Western Railway should decongest the Bengaluru City (Sangolli Rayanna) railway station by allowing long-distance trains to terminate at Baiyappanahalli or Yelahanka stations,” he said.
CfB member Prakash Belawadi had a word of apology to the crowd: “People of my age failed to make the suburban rail project a reality all these years. But I am sure we can fix it with your support at least now.”