Railway Board approves survey for Bengaluru's fourth train terminal

Massive project likely to come up near Devanahalli; cost estimated at Rs 1,500 crore.

Bengaluru: The proposal to build a fourth railway terminal in Bengaluru has received a shot in the arm with the railways sanctioning a Final Location Survey (FLS) for the ambitious project.

The survey, estimated to cost Rs 1.35 crore, will finalise the exact location of the terminal. Tentative locations include near the Devanahalli station, or anywhere along the Yelahanka-Devanahalli-Chikkaballapur corridor, the South Western Railway (SWR) said.

The terminal is aimed at decongesting Bengaluru’s saturated railway infrastructure and meeting the rising demand for passenger services, the SWR added.

This will be the second modern terminal for Bengaluru. The first — SMVT Bengaluru — is already operational, and handles nearly 50 trains bound for East and Northeast India.

The city's three main railway terminals — KSR Bengaluru, Yeshwantpur and SMVT Bengaluru — handle 140 originating, 139 terminating and 142 pass-through trains daily, along with 110 primary maintenance trains.

In 2024–25, Bengaluru served 212.06 million railway passengers, including 103.72 million originating passengers.

A total of 210 trains are expected to originate from the city in the near future, and the existing terminals will prove inadequate to handle them, according to the SWR.

"Bengaluru's railway network faces other multiple operational bottlenecks: fully utilised pit lines, overcrowded platforms, frequent train delays, high empty rake movements due to insufficient stabling lines and no dedicated goods corridor. Urban density has made expansion at existing sites nearly impossible. While short-term steps like train rerouting and terminal shifts have been implemented, long-term solutions are crucial," the SWR stated.

Ashutosh K Singh, Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru, said that modalities of the new terminal were still being worked out.

"It will be a massive terminal. The SWR's construction wing has hired a consultant to conduct the land survey for the project. Other details, including cost, are also being worked out," he told DH.

The terminal is estimated to come on about 1,000 acres of land and cost Rs 1,500 crore.

Authorities have tentatively selected a land parcel in Bullahalli and KG Gururayanahosuru villages, near the Venkatagiri Kote Halt station, about 50 km from the city centre.

4th railway terminal for Bengaluru

16 platforms

12 pit lines

5 washing lines (ACWP-equipped)

24 stabling lines

6 heavy repair bay lines

2 pit wheel lathe lines

6 sick lines

Loco bays, 50-tonne boot laundry, administrative buildings and stores.

Capacity: 36 trains per day.