Railways to connect Bengaluru airport with train service: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Bengaluru: The Indian Railways plans to build a short line that will see suburban trains being run directly to Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), according to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. 

The project — outlined at a press conference on Saturday — is part of the railways’ ambitious push to decongest Bengaluru and will involve building a rail-over-rail (RoR) flyover, he stated. 

An RoR flyover is a railway line at the ground level and another railway line above it. 

Currently, suburban trains to the airport are operated from the Kempegowda International Airport Halt (KIAD) station. The trains run empty due to their poor frequency and the fact that the station is located is 3.5 km away from the airport. Passengers have to take a shuttle bus for the last mile. 

The proposal to extend the railway line closer to the airport has been mooted in the past but faced technical problems. 

“There was a technical problem, which has been solved now. We will build a rail-over-rail flyover and engineers are designing it. We will get one more option to connect the airport to the city centre. The airport will have metro, rail, suburban and RoR lines,” he said. 

According to Vaishnaw, the idea of constructing the short railway line occurred to him when he took a train from the KIAD station to the city. “It was a comfortable 40 to 45-minute ride. The project will bring significant relief to the people,” he said. 

The railways will build a 7.9-km line from Dodjala to the airport with three new stations. From Dodjala, the line will run elevated for 6.25 km before going underground for 1.65 km within the airport premises. 

Vaishnaw did not provide other details about the project. It was also not clear whether the railways had sought permission from Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL). 

Considering that the line will be elevated or underground, land acquisition is expected to be minimal.  

The new line will also link the 287-km circular railway project, which involves building a ring railway line over seven spokes, located 25-40 km away from the city. The railways is currently preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for it. 

“Big thinking will help Bengaluru grow. The circular railway is a long-term project.  We hope to start the first spoke in the next one and a half years,” he said. 

Opened in 2008, KIA is the third-busiest airport in India. But 17 years after its opening, the airport still lacks affordable public transport. Flyers mostly rely on expensive cab rides or the BMTC’s Volvo bus services. 

Namma Metro is building the 58.19-km Blue Line, which will connect Silk Board Junction with the airport via KR Pura. This line is expected to be ready by December 2028. Separately, K-RIDE will build a suburban train connection to the airport from Majestic. However, the project has moved at a snail’s pace and civil work tenders have yet to be awarded. 

He slammed the tunnel road project, describing it as "a painfully expensive idea, which will give a very small traffic benefit".