South Western Railway to begin Cantonment terminal work in May

The South Western Railways (SWR) will begin work on the proposed terminal at the Cantonment Railway Station in May, by which time officials hope to operationalise the Byappanahalli terminal.

Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi announced the new dates for opening the seven-platform Byappanahalli terminal, while speaking after Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa flagged off the Shivamogga-Chennai-Shivamogga Tatkal Express (06221/2), which is upgraded from weekly to bi-weekly.

The Byappanahalli terminal was originally scheduled to be opened in July 2019. Answering mediapersons’ questions at the sidelines of an event, Angadi said some trains will be introduced to make the most out of the Byappanahalli terminal.

“I have told railway officials that mere inauguration of the terminal will not suffice. We need to introduce some trains,” he said.

He said officials had earlier promised to hand over the terminal in March. “Most of the work will be done by March,” the minister said. “But officials sought two more months to complete the finishing work.”

To a question about the delay in the Cantonment terminal work, which will add four more platforms to the station, SWR general manager Ajay Kumar Singh said tenders have already been called. “As soon as the team working on the Byappanahalli terminal gets relieved, it’ll begin work on the Cantonment terminal,” he said. Singh said the seven platforms at Byappanahalli would help decongest the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) station.

“The plan is to operate 64 trains (32 pairs) from the Byappanahalli terminal, which will provide relief to the KSR station for three to four years. By that time, the Yeshwantpur terminal will be sanctioned,” he said.

Earlier, Yediyurappa, who flagged off the now bi-weekly Tatkal Express, said the state government offers utmost cooperation to the railways in expanding rail infrastructure and services.

Shivamogga’s Member of Parliament B Y Raghavendra urged railway authorities to take up the doubling of the line between Birur and Shivamogga to make running of trains to Bengaluru smoother.

Don’t worry: Angadi

Angadi remained vague about the CCEA nod for the Bengaluru suburban rail project, only saying that it will be sanctioned ‘soon’.

Pressed by the reporters for specifics, the minister said: “Technically, I can’t speak. I can only say that (the project will be sanctioned) as early as possible.” Angadi further added that the prime minister and the Railway Board have taken interest in the project. “Once the Cabinet approves the project, I can give a clear picture,” he said, promising to do his part. “These are processes. Don’t worry.”