Do outlying towns really need metro connectivity?

As Bengaluru looks to expand its metro network, here's what govt should do before launching new lines

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s announcement last week that the metro would be extended to Bidadi has attracted both excitement and scepticism. 

Located about 32 km west of the city centre, Bidadi is one of several towns around Bengaluru and has grown rapidly in the last decade. As thousands of people from Bidadi travel to Bengaluru everyday, there’s a demand for metro connectivity. Challaghatta, the Bengaluru metro’s last station on the western end, is located about 18 km from Bidadi. 

Shivakumar has similarly promised metro connectivity to other outlying towns including Attibele, Hoskote, Nelamangala, Devanahalli and Doddaballapur. 

Critics, however, believe that robust demand assessments rather than political considerations should decide whether or not outlying towns need metro connectivity. 

Given their distance from the city, the metro will not serve these outlying towns well. Rapid rail systems would be better suited instead, they argue. 

At 73.81 km, the Bengaluru Metro is the second largest in India. Another 101.5 km is under construction. A further 79 km is on the drawing board, including 43 km under Phase 3A and 36 km under Phase 3B. At the end of Phase 3B, Bengaluru will have a metro network of 255 km. 

The 2031 Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) envisages a 317-km metro network for Bengaluru. Over the years, several new lines have been proposed (see table). 

And if the metro is also taken to Bidadi, Nelamangala, Devanahalli and Doddaballapur, the Bengaluru metro may easily surpass 500 km, making it the longest in India, or so the authorities want citizens to believe. 

While this expansion may ensure all areas have metro connectivity within a 1-2 km radius, that would be easier said than done. And in the case of outlying towns such as Bidadi, the metro may neither be feasible nor workable. 

Satya Arikutharam, who served as Chief Technical Advisor at the Directorate of Urban Land Transport, which prepared the CMP, believes the proposal on new lines is “nothing more than flying in the air”. 

He feels new lines are being proposed without discussions or proper demand assessments. 

“There has to be a strong link between land use and the metro network. Most people will travel by metro for work. Unless you understand the land-use pattern and the growth areas, there’s no logic in proposing new lines,” he says. 

He continued: “Will people travelling from Bidadi to Bengaluru for work really prefer metro trains, which will stop every two minutes? The political economy of real estate is behind this”. 

What authorities need to do instead is plan a city where 70-80 per cent of the people would use public transport, including BMTC buses, suburban rail and autos/cabs, he adds. 

Going by Bengaluru’s projected population in the next few years, the metro should serve 3-3.5 million people daily, he says. 

Prof M V Rajeev Gowda, vice-chairman of the State Institute For The Transformation of Karnataka and a member of the Brand Brand Committee, says the metro is suitable for dense urban areas with a stop every 2-5 minutes.

The suburban rail with fewer stops may be a better option for far-off places. 

For example, he says, Bidadi may be connected to a suburban railway line with stops at KSR Bengaluru, Jnanabharathi and Kengeri stations. 

In the core of the city, building loops through metrolite systems is ideal to make the network denser and more accessible. 

Prof Gowda stressed that more demand assessments were needed before new metro lines were launched. 

B L Yashawanth Chavan, Chief Public Relations Officer, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), said only 60 km more would be needed to meet the CMP target of 317 km if the operational, under-construction and approved lines were factored in. 

He said the BMRCL would soon study the feasibility of the inner ring, Whitefield-Katamanallur Gate and the Whitefield-Domlur lines, as well as the Bidadi connection. 

For Bidadi, Chavan said a mass rapid transit system with stations at longer distances would be a better option. 

According to the official, a metrolite system may not be feasible in the city due to technical challenges. “We will have to go for high-capacity, heavy-rail systems,” he told DH.