<p class="bodytext">The recent ‘final approval’ for the Rs 4,000 crore suburban rail link to Kempegowda International Airport is a classic case of putting the cart before the horse. Cleared only now, after the airport began operations in 2008, the project highlights Bengaluru’s enduring failure to align major infrastructure with the connectivity it demands. Reaching the airport today is a nightmare. In many cases, it takes longer to get to the airport from home than it does to fly from the airport to the final destination. The suburban rail line, originating at KSR Bengaluru, is expected to offer much-needed relief by integrating other modes of transport. That such a basic, affordable mass transit link is being green-lit only now speaks volumes about the city’s planning paralysis.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The irony deepens when one considers the airport’s own history. The idea of a new greenfield airport was first mooted in the early 1990s. After years of delay, redesign, and policy wrangling, it was finally commissioned in May 2008—nearly two decades after conceptualisation. Yet, despite this long gestation, the airport opened without even seamless surface connectivity. The most glaring example was the trumpet Interchange, meant to link the national highway to the airport. With the opening date looming and the project not even off the ground, the airport operator was forced to step in, take over construction, and rush it through to avoid chaos on inauguration day. The elevated corridor that now forms the backbone of access came up six years later, in 2014, long after the airport had settled into full-scale operations. Meanwhile, the alternative road through Hennur still languishes, awaiting a long-overdue upgrade. The Blue Line metro to the airport, now inching forward amid repeated deadline extensions, has become a symbol of infrastructure procrastination. Ideally, such a line should have been commissioned alongside the airport itself, not two decades later. Worse, its construction along the Outer Ring Road has narrowed carriageways and aggravated traffic congestion, imposing daily costs on commuters in the name of future relief.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The lesson is obvious: major aviation infrastructure cannot be conceived in isolation from the transport networks that sustain it. Expressways and rail links must be planned and executed in parallel, not added as an afterthought. As Karnataka plans a second international airport, the experience at Devanahalli must serve as a cautionary tale. Multimodal connectivity—both road and rail—should be treated as core infrastructure, with synchronised timelines, unified planning, and clear accountability. Bengaluru cannot afford another era of post-inauguration improvisation; the city deserves a gateway that is as accessible as it is ambitious.</p>
<p class="bodytext">The recent ‘final approval’ for the Rs 4,000 crore suburban rail link to Kempegowda International Airport is a classic case of putting the cart before the horse. Cleared only now, after the airport began operations in 2008, the project highlights Bengaluru’s enduring failure to align major infrastructure with the connectivity it demands. Reaching the airport today is a nightmare. In many cases, it takes longer to get to the airport from home than it does to fly from the airport to the final destination. The suburban rail line, originating at KSR Bengaluru, is expected to offer much-needed relief by integrating other modes of transport. That such a basic, affordable mass transit link is being green-lit only now speaks volumes about the city’s planning paralysis.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The irony deepens when one considers the airport’s own history. The idea of a new greenfield airport was first mooted in the early 1990s. After years of delay, redesign, and policy wrangling, it was finally commissioned in May 2008—nearly two decades after conceptualisation. Yet, despite this long gestation, the airport opened without even seamless surface connectivity. The most glaring example was the trumpet Interchange, meant to link the national highway to the airport. With the opening date looming and the project not even off the ground, the airport operator was forced to step in, take over construction, and rush it through to avoid chaos on inauguration day. The elevated corridor that now forms the backbone of access came up six years later, in 2014, long after the airport had settled into full-scale operations. Meanwhile, the alternative road through Hennur still languishes, awaiting a long-overdue upgrade. The Blue Line metro to the airport, now inching forward amid repeated deadline extensions, has become a symbol of infrastructure procrastination. Ideally, such a line should have been commissioned alongside the airport itself, not two decades later. Worse, its construction along the Outer Ring Road has narrowed carriageways and aggravated traffic congestion, imposing daily costs on commuters in the name of future relief.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The lesson is obvious: major aviation infrastructure cannot be conceived in isolation from the transport networks that sustain it. Expressways and rail links must be planned and executed in parallel, not added as an afterthought. As Karnataka plans a second international airport, the experience at Devanahalli must serve as a cautionary tale. Multimodal connectivity—both road and rail—should be treated as core infrastructure, with synchronised timelines, unified planning, and clear accountability. Bengaluru cannot afford another era of post-inauguration improvisation; the city deserves a gateway that is as accessible as it is ambitious.</p>
