Source – https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/bengalurus-tech-corridor-to-get-more-trains-by-december-2024-as-tracks-are-doubled-11229811.html
Publisher – Money Control
With single tracks along two crucial railway lines in Bengaluru set to be doubled by December 2024, the city’s tech corridor is likely to get more train services.
The Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE), responsible for the doubling of tracks on the Byappanahalli-Bellandur Road-Hosur and Yeshwantpur-Hebbal- Channasandra lines, said the project will be completed by the end of next year.
The officials said the doubling of the tracks along the 48-km Byappanahalli-Hosur corridor will benefit techies working along the Outer Ring Road, Sarjapur Road, and Hosur Road. “Around 40 percent of the work has been completed. The Carmelaram-Heelalige section was completed on February 20, 2023, and the remaining sections will be completed in phases by December 2024,” said a senior K-RIDE official. The project is expected to cost Rs 498.73 crore.
Similarly, doubling of the Yeshwantpur-Hebbal- Channasandra corridor (21.7 km) will cater to tech professionals in places like Hebbal. “Nearly 15 percent of the Rs 314 crore-project has been completed, and the rest will be done by December 2024.”
While both projects were sanctioned by the union railways ministry in 2018-2019, they were transferred to K-RIDE in June 2020 and were supposed to be completed by December 2023.
Officials said doubling of the railway lines will enable the South Western Railway (SWR) to operate additional trains, particularly MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) services during peak hours. As part of the project, K-RIDE will also construct major and minor bridges, retaining walls, platforms, foot-over-bridges, drainage systems, etc., along these two corridors. MEMUs are trains that serve short and medium-distance routes connecting urban and suburban areas.
This would bring relief to passengers, especially techies, as the completion of the Bengaluru metro’s Blue Line (Central Silk Board–KR Pura-Hebbal-Kempegowda International Airport) is expected only by 2025-2026. Further, the entire 148-km Bengaluru suburban rail network is expected to be completed only by 2028.
Experts said doubling these two crucial lines will help the railways to operate more trains and ensure the punctuality of existing services. KN Krishna Prasad, co-founder of Karnataka Railway Vedike, an NGO, said: “The doubling of tracks will ensure punctuality by reducing delays caused by train crossings on single tracks. SWR could run more trains, especially during peak hours, depending on the availability of rakes and political will. Elected representatives should exert pressure to ensure sufficient services during peak hours.”
He added that traffic congestion on the Outer Ring Road has increased due to the ongoing metro work, hence trains are a major source of relief for those working in the tech corridor, until the metro is ready.
Sandeep Anirudhan, founder of Bengaluru Agenda for Mobility, who started a petition on change.org titled ‘Start Bengaluru Suburban Rail now on existing infra,‘ which received around 3,000 signatures, said: “In Mumbai, the railways run a train every three minutes on every line, whereas in Bengaluru, in most corridors, there might be just one train in three hours or more. Mumbai gives priority to local trains. The SWR operates skeletal suburban rail services, and even that is most unpunctual due to the higher priority given to interstate and goods trains.
“Bengaluru is known as the country’s tech capital, yet it lags in terms of railway infrastructure. Implementing an automatic signalling system is a low-hanging fruit that doesn’t cost much and would increase the capacity to operate more trains. However, the railways continues to rely on manual signalling systems,” he added.
A breakdown of a single truck, a fallen tree, or waterlogging in a small section can bring the entire Outer Ring Road to a halt.
As companies urge employees to return to offices with the end of the work-from-home arrangement, traffic congestion is surging, particularly along the 19-km stretch between Central Silk Board and KR Puram. According to a report by the Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA) submitted to the traffic police, a total of 6.4 lakh employees now commute daily between Silk Board and KR Puram, using 3.3 lakh vehicles, including personal cars and cabs.
