SWR drops proposal for 400-acre shunting facility

The decision means the decongestion of the KSR railway station has been deferred for three more years

Railway authorities have dropped a proposal to develop a 400-acre shunting and maintenance facility near Hejjala in Bengaluru.

This would mean decongestion of the KSR railway station has been deferred for three more years until the construction of four additional platforms at the Cantonment Railway Station.

The KSR station in Majestic handles approximately 130 trains on a daily basis in addition to shunting and maintenance operations. Platform congestion at this station has been identified as a significant cause of delays.

“We have taken several steps to reduce platform congestion. As of now, about 30 trains have been shifted to Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal at Baiyyappanahalli. At present, we are looking forward to the creation of four platforms at Cantonment to further reduce the stress on the KSR station,” a senior official said.

Last month, the railways had announced that it would develop the Cantonment railway station at a cost of Rs 525 crore. The project was expected to be completed in three years.

Hejjala project

The South Western Railway (SWR) had proposed to establish a 400-acre facility near Hejjala for shunting and maintenance operations.

“This was viewed as a significant intervention that will meet the needs of the future, when the number of trains is expected to increase,” said a source. “Sooner or later, we need to have a full-fledged facility in view of the growing needs of the passengers.”

SWR chief public relations officer Aneesh Hegde said the proposal has been dropped due to lack of feasibility.

“It was decided not to pursue it further after it was found that the project lacks maintenance and operational feasibility. The four platforms coming up at Cantonment will help decongest the KSR station,” he said.

Vande Bharat shed in Banaswadi

The South Western Railway (SWR), scheduled to receive four Vande Bharat Express trains, will develop a facility to maintain the high-speed trains at Banaswadi.

“In the first phase, a pit lane will be built at a cost of Rs 50 crore. The facility will be upgraded at a cost of Rs 150 crore in the second phase,” SWR chief public relations officer Aneesh Hegde said.

“The single pit lane will be able to handle 20 to 22 Vande Bharat rakes (set of coaches) per week. This will be more than enough as a rake typically requires maintenance once a week,” the public relations officer said.