Railways upgrading infra to maintain Vande Bharat trains in Bengaluru

To extend Banaswadi MEMU shed by 130 metres, upgrade facilities at SMVT

The South Western Railway (SWR) is upgrading infrastructure in Bengaluru to maintain longer Vande Bharat trains, an official said.

The SWR has facilities to maintain Vande Bharat trains that have between eight and 12 coaches. The upgraded facilities will help it maintain 16-coach trains, said Kusuma Hariprasad, Additional Divisional Railway Manager (Administration), Bengaluru. “Currently, we don’t have facilities to maintain 16-coach Vande Bharat trains,” she told DH.

The premium train requires maintenance that’s different from that of regular a train. The SWR is carrying out two projects to maintain the train’s chair cars: the extension of the MEMU shed at Banaswadi and the development/upgrade of maintenance infrastructure at SMVT, India’s first air-conditioned railway station located in eastern Bengaluru.

The shed extension will cost Rs 50 crore while the work at SMVT will be more expensive at Rs 123 crore, Hariprasad added. The shed extension project has been approved by the Railway Board. As for the work at the SMVT, a Detailed Project Report (DPR) is being prepared and will be sent to the SWR headquarters, which will then send it to the Railway Board for approval, she explained.

The railways had to recall an earlier tender for the shed extension due to technical reasons. The new tender will be opened and finalised shortly, she added.

The railways requires land from defence authorities as well as the New Government Electrical Factory (NGEF). While defence land is needed to extend the MEMU shed towards SMVT, the acquisition of NGEF property will be necessary for upgrading the maintenance facilities at the station, according to Hariprasad. An MoU has yet to be signed with the defence authorities, she said.

Both projects are being taken up by the SWR’s construction wing, which is based at Bengaluru Cantonment, she added.

The SWR runs Karnataka’s dedicated Vande Bharat Express linking KSR Bengaluru with Dharwad. The state’s first Vande Bharat Express connecting Mysuru with Chennai via Bengaluru is maintained by the Tamil Nadu-headquartered Southern Railway.

Planned upgrade

Banaswadi MEMU shed: It is currently 270 metres long and can accommodate only 8-12-coach Vande Bharat trains. It will be extended by 130 metres (50 metres from the Banaswadi side on railway land and 80 metres from the SMVT side on defence land).

SMVT: The swanky railway terminal has three pit-lines and will get a fourth. All four will be covered with sheds.