Proposal sent for doubling of Baiyappanahalli-Hosur railway line

South Western Railway has sent a detailed project report on doubling and electrification of the Baiyappanahalli-Hosur line to the Railway Board.

Union Minister Ananth Kumar on Friday said he will convince Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to clear the proposal at the earliest.

Speaking at an event held to flag off the Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) between Baiyappanahalli and Whitefield, Kumar  said the state and Centre should form a joint venture for Bengaluru on the lines of Karnataka Railway Infrastructure Development Enterprise (KRIDE).

“The traffic situation in Bengaluru is worsening as the number of vehicles is seeing an exponential increase everyday. The city needs a BRIDE on the lines of KRIDE for planning and speedy implementation of infrastructure projects to bring a Mumbai-like suburban rail service,” he said.

Noting that the suburban railway project cannot be implemented without the state government’s cooperation, he said the railways need 40 acres of land in NGEF campus at Banaswadi to establish a maintenance shed for DEMUs and MEMUs.

Earlier, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu spoke at the event through video conferencing. He inaugurated various development works and laid foundation stones for other works.

MP P C Mohan said the railways should introduce two additional pairs of train between Baiyappanahalli and Whitefield.

“One pair of trains is not sufficient on this route. The road network on this route is heavily congested following civil works for the Metro line,” he added.

SWR Bengaluru Division Railway Manager R S Saxena said doubling of Baiyappanahalli-Hosur line will further boost the suburban rail project.

Saxena said doubling and electrification of the 40-km Baiyappanahalli-Hosur project is estimated to cost about Rs 400 crore. “In addition, there is also a proposal for doubling and electrification of Yeshwantpur-Lottegollahalli-Hebbal line at a cost of Rs 200 crore,” he said.

He said the railways were already running 104 suburban rail services and could introduce more once the infrastructure is augmented. “There are 26 MEMUs (electric) and 24 DEMUs. Our priority is to convert conventional trains into MEMUs in the coming days,” he added.

DH News Service


Timings

From Byappanahalli: 8.25 am

From Whitefield: 6.15 pm

Travel duration: 25 mins

Stoppages: KR Puram, Hoodi

Train capacity: 2,412 passengers

Commuters say one trip not enough

Activists said running just one pair of trains between Baiyappanahalli and Whitefield was disappointing. “The railways should have assessed the demand before finalising the services. At least two or three more trains should run between these stations,” said T P Lokesh member of Karnataka Railway Vedike.

Krishna Kumar, another member, said the railways should finish doubling the single lines to run additional trains towards Whitefield and Hosur.

Argument over suburban rail policy

Bengaluru Development Minister K J George expressed his unhappiness with the new suburban rail policy which makes the state bear a huge burden of the project cost. “The state government will end up bearing 70% of the project cost. The Centre has funded suburban trains in Mumbai and Chennai and should have done the same for Bengaluru,” he said.

MP P C Mohan, however, intervened to say that Mumbai and Chennai projects were “built in the 1947-period” and Bengaluru can’t expect the same. “Besides, the Centre and state each share 20% of the project cost while the special purpose vehicle will bear 60%,” he added.

George said it didn’t matter whether it was 1947 or 2017. The Centre should have helped the government. Though the SPV will take care of 60% of the cost, it is the state government and not the Centre who will take responsibility of the SPV,” he said.