Bengaluru suburban rail gets on fast track; bids called for Corridor 4

Heelalige-Rajanukunte line to have 8.96-km elevated & 37.92-km at-grade line, deadline is 30 months

Bengaluru’s suburban train dream has taken a step forward with tenders being called for the 46.88-km Corridor 4 that will connect Heelalige in the far south to Rajanukunte in the far north.

Corridor 4, also known as the Kanaka Line, is the second of four corridors for which tenders have been called. The tender is for the design and construction of 8.96 km of elevated tracks (viaducts) and 37.92 km of at-grade tracks. April 27, 2023, is the last date to submit the bids.

If everything goes smoothly, the contract will be awarded later this year. The deadline will be 30 months from the date of the award of the contract.

A separate tender will be called later this year for the construction of 19 stations that will come under Corridor 4, said officials at the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (K-RIDE), which is building the project.

K-RIDE has made some modifications to the specifications stipulated in the Detailed Project Report (DPR). As per the DPR, the length of Corridor 4 was 46.24 km, consisting of a 13.29-km elevated line and a 32.95-km at-grade line. The length of the at-grade line has been reduced to cut land acquisition costs.

K-RIDE has been in advanced talks with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the German investment and development bank KfW to secure funding for the Rs 15,767-crore Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP). An agreement is expected by March 2023.

Ridership on Kanaka line

More than 3.5 lakh people are expected to travel on the Kanaka Line every day when it becomes operational in 2025. Yelahanka will be the interchange station, which will also connect the KSR Bengaluru-Devanahalli (airport) line.

Mallige Line

Corridor 2, or the 24.86-km Mallige Line that will connect Baiyappanahalli with Chikkabanavar, is the only corridor where groundwork has started.

Officials at K-RIDE are working on setting up two depots at Hebbal and Benniganahalli. Works related to barricading, ground-levelling, concrete-batching plant, soil testing and alignment finalisation have been completed.

A total of 177.83 acres of land are required for the Mallige Line. This includes 157.07 acres of railway land, 15.72 acres of state government land and 5.11 acres of private land. While the railway land has been fully acquired, only 3.21 acres of private land and just 0.62 acres of government land have been acquired.

Pre-qualification bids for 306 coaches

K-RIDE on Wednesday issued a request for qualification for the selection of an entity for the design, manufacturing, supply, commissioning, operation and maintenance of 306 coaches (rolling stock) for the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project.

March 15 is the last date for filing the applications, which will be opened the next day. Evaluation of applications will take about a month after that. The agreement will be signed within 60 days of the award of the Letter of Acceptance.

Pre-qualified and shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit technical and financial bids during the bidding stage, which is expected by May, said an official at K-RIDE.

Each coach will be 3.2 metres wide, 21.74 metres long and will be fully air-conditioned. They will be like metro coaches. The top speed will be 90 kmph.

According to the official, the tender is for procuring 306 coaches, which will run in sets of three or six depending on ridership. Upon award of the contract, a prototype of one three-coach and one six-coach train will have to be delivered within 90 weeks.