New location for suburban train station at Majestic

There has been a change in the location of the suburban train station at Majestic, which will most likely be the busiest in the 148.17-km Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP).

The elevated station will come up on the median of Gubbi Thotadappa Road and provide direct connectivity to the Kempegowda (Majestic) metro and bus stations, well-placed sources in the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) said.

The station was previously planned to be built above platforms 6-7 inside KSR Bengaluru railway station. The track was to run to the left of the railway line and cross it before moving towards platforms 5 and 6. It will now run along Gubbi Thotadappa Road before turning left towards Okalipuram.

Under the earlier plan, the suburban station would have connected only to the railway station and the KSR Bengaluru railway metro station. This would require passengers to walk out of the KSR railway station premises to access the Kempegowda metro and bus stations, about 300 metres away.

In addition, metro connectivity would have been limited because KSR Bengaluru railway metro station serves only the Purple Line.

But the choice of Gubbi Thotadappa Road would make it easier for passengers to access the Majestic metro station (Purple and Green lines) and the KSRTC and BMTC buses via a foot overbridge, sources said.

In all likelihood, the foot overbridge will be linked to the existing one that connects the metro and bus stations.

K-RIDE has also begun preliminary work on the Sampige Line that will connect Bengaluru's central, western and northern areas with the airport.

The agency has begun a physical site survey to verify the structures required for the line and prepare estimates. It plans to call tenders in August for the viaduct design and construction with a deadline of fewer than 27 months, sources added.

The 41.40-km Sampige Line (Corridor 1) will be the second longest among the four lines under the BSRP. It will be elevated for 18.98 km (mainly in densely populated areas) and at grade for 22.42 km towards Lottegollahalli and beyond.

K-RIDE has estimated a land requirement of 57,228 square metres for the Sampige Line.

Majestic suburban station

* It will be an interchange station for the 41.4-km Sampige Line (KSR Bengaluru-Devanahalli) and the 35.52-km Parijata Line (Kengeri-Whitefield).

* It will have two side and island platforms. The side platforms will serve the Kengeri-Whitefield line, while the island platforms will serve the KSR Bengaluru-Devanahalli line.

* A foot over bridge will link it to railway, metro and bus stations.

Airport station

* The airport (KIADB) suburban train station will be elevated, but have at-grade platforms.

* It will require 15.96 acres of land and be located two minutes from the airport terminal.