In a boost to the suburban railworks, the railways has invited bids for civil work on the doubling of the Baiyappanahalli-Hosur line, months after the Centre approved the Rs 376-crore project. The doubling will help introduce more trains to IT corridor in the southern parts of Bengaluru.
The civil work on the 48-km stretch has been divided into five packages, each varying in distances between 7 km and 11 km. The South Western Railway has set an October 23 deadline for submission of the bids.
Once the tender is awarded, the contractor will get 18 months to complete the project, which includes earthwork in cutting, embankment and construction of major and minor bridges as well as railway under bridges.
With this, work on doubling is likely to begin in the next two months. Once the land is prepared, the railways will call tenders for laying track and electrification works. This should be following by automatic block signalling and intermediate block signalling works, which are an integral part of the suburban rail network.
Urban transport activist Sanjeev Dyamannavar said the railways should take up work on additional stations in the same breath. "Stations should be built every two to three kilometres or even less. The railways should also eliminate all the level crossings near Kaggadasapura, Hellalige and Anekal Road and other places along the route at the same time," he said.
Previously, activists have submitted a demand for building 10 additional stations along the Yashwantpur-Hosur route. Of them, Doddanekkundi, Munnekolala, Huskur Road, Chandapur and KHB Layout Suryanagar are located between Baiyappanahalli and Hosur.
Noting that the state government has agreed to share 50% of the project cost, Dyamannavar said the railways should take up a comprehensive project at once to bring relief to commuters.
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