Why has the suburban train to Bengaluru airport gone off track?

Launched with much fanfare in January this year, the airport halt station had promised dirt cheap train rides from the city to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).

But before the pandemic's second wave nipped out any chance for a rise in its footfall, came another blow: The KSR Bengaluru railway station to the KIA suburban rail corridor, designed to take passengers right up to the airport terminal, was suddenly off the railways' priority list.

No reason was given as to why the critical rail link went from first to last priority.

This project is now on the back burner, scheduled for completion only after six years, and not three as originally planned.

But the approval for a dedicated airport metro line hinted that the two decisions might be connected.

All indications were that the decision was dictated by the ridership concerns raised by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).

Their contention was this: A suburban rail link with dedicated trains right up to the terminal will hit the airport metro’s ridership.

Faster activation

Land acquisition delays, tree-felling and issues with the Jakkur-based Government Flying Training School (GFTS) could all combine to delay the metro project. Should commuters wait that long when the suburban link could be activated in about two years? This is the question raised by urban mobility activists who are frustrated by the shift in priorities.

Forget the KSR Bengaluru-Yeshwantpur line for now. Start work on the Yeshwantpur railway station to the KIA terminal line to complete in two years, says urban rail analyst Sanjeev Dyamannavar. Land acquisition should not be an issue since 90% of the land on this line belongs to the state government and the South Western Railway (SWR).

Ahead of the halt station, the proposed airport suburban line branches out from the existing track leading to Devanahalli. Once it enters the KIA premises, the track will be laid up to the terminals on trenches in a cut-and-cover method. This could be built relatively faster than elevated and underground alignments.

Once this line is ready, dedicated airport trains could be operated every 15 minutes between the Yeshwantpur railway station and the KIA terminals. “The Detailed Project Report (DPR) has proposed a frequency of 15 minutes. This can be reduced even further to 10 minutes,” notes Dyamannavar. The Yeshwantpur terminal’s metro connectivity will help commuters from across the city access the airport train.

Ridership issues

Will this truncated but effective suburban rail link eat into the ridership of an airport metro? Hardly.

As a Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) official explains, the pace of the KIA’s post-pandemic passenger growth will be so fast that it could touch 90 million per annum by 2035. On completion of the ongoing Terminal-2 (T2) work, the capacity will go up by another 25 million passengers.

This implies the airport will require every connectivity: metro, rail and road.

"The suburban rail DPR prepared by K-RIDE (Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Enterprises) had estimated that the expected footfalls would be the highest for the airport corridor. This is clearly because of the airport passengers and workers," reasons Rajkumar Dugar, convenor, Citizens for Citizens.

In the last 15 years, he reminds, the BMRCL has been able to complete only about 50 km of the Namma Metro.

"Even doubling the pace of work, the airport metro could take about eight years. When the suburban rail link is available on a platter, taking it off the priority list is incomprehensible. Where is the transparency in the decision, which affects two crore people?” he wonders.