New station planned at Bengaluru airport under suburban railway project

Bengaluru airport to get four rapid transit stations within its premises.

Travelling to Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) may be a big hassle now, but things are set to dramatically change in the next few years. 

India’s third busiest airport is poised to get four rapid transit stations within its premises, one more than originally planned, that will help travellers reach different parts of the city with unprecedented ease. 

The airport will have two stations under the Sampige Line of the 148.17-km Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP), senior officials in the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited said. Only one station was originally proposed to be built within the airport premises under the Sampige Line. 

While the first BSRP station will be built close to the terminal, the second will most likely come up on the left side of the new, toll-free airport road, an official said. 

“The second station isn’t there in the DPR. It has been proposed for serving airport employees and people from the catchment areas,” the official told DH. 

As per the DPR, the first station (called the Airport Terminal) will be built near the parking lot. The second one will be tentatively located near the junction of the Hennur-Bagalur-Begur road.

“This area holds promise and will see tremendous development, and invariably, a lot of traffic,” the official explained. 

However, the terminal station will be bigger and designed to meet all passenger demands, the second official said. 

The airport is already getting two metro stations under the Blue Line, called Airport City and Airport Terminals. 

Meanwhile, central PSU RITES Limited has completed a survey for the 5.5-km airport link under the suburban railway project. 

“The survey was undertaken after obtaining permission from the airport authorities to enter their premises. We are preparing the drawings,” the first official said. 

The survey covered such aspects as the alignment of the airport link, the location of both stations, potential obstructions, and how to resolve them.

“Once the final location of the stations is decided, RITES will undertake a traffic study and submit a DPR,” the official added. The process is expected to take two months. 

A third official said that tender documents for the Sampige Line had been submitted to the German investment bank KfW for approval. KfW is expected to lend €500 million for the BSRP. 

“We will call tenders once funding is assured,” the official said. 

The second official said tenders could be called in December. 

While the BSRP alignment will run parallel to the Indian Railway track in the rest of the city, the airport link will branch out of the main Yelahanka-Devanahalli line. K-RIDE has completed physical land and alignment surveys for the Sampige Line track that will run parallel to the railway line. 

The South Western Railway is reviewing the Sampige Line’s main alignment but its approval is not needed for the airport link because that falls outside the railway area. 

For the airport link, K-RIDE needs clearance from BIAL authorities. 

The BSRP is targeted to be completed by 2028. 

Sampige Line Length: 41.4 km Stations: 16 (including a second one at the airport) Connections: KSR Bengaluru (Majestic) Yeshwantpur Yelahanka & Devanahalli.  Airport link Length: 5.5 km Stations: 2 (both underground)