8 new suburban trains on Hosur, Whitefield route in a week

The railways will introduce eight new services on the suburban network within a week specifically to help those travelling towards Hosur and Whitefield.

South Western Railway general manager A K Gupta announced the new trains during the press conference held by Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal on Thursday. Two pairs (four trains) will run on the Banaswadi-Hosur route, one pair each on Byappanahalli-Whitefield and Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna-Byappanahalli routes.

"There are 110 suburban services in Bengaluru area. We added 18 new services last year. The eight new trains will be added within a week," he said.

After watching a video clip on drone mapping of railway stations for the suburban railway project, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal praised SWR officials for speedy implementation of projects.

The railway minister said work was under way for speedy implementation of the suburban rail. "We want to bring in the most modern train sets. I want to launch air-conditioned services in Bengaluru so that people can travel in comfort," he said.

Goyal said the railways capital expenditure in the state has gone up 2.5 times since the BJP came to power. "The speed of new lines added during the last four years has increased by 200%. Similarly, doubling work has been speeded up by 60%, electrification work has gone up from 8 km to 177 km per year," he said.

9 months for Suburban rail DPR

SWR general manager A K Gupta said it would take about nine months for them to prepare detailed project reports for the 161-km suburban rail network. "About six months are required for various surveys, which have to be further evaluated by experts. It may take three months more to prepare the DPR," he said.

Railway officials had earlier said that the DPR for the project, which includes a 68-km elevated line, will be prepared in five months.

Cost sharing: It's give and take

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal reiterated that they have agreed to share half of the Rs 12,000 crore suburban railway project if the state government gives higher floor space index (FSI) to railway land in the city.