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Amid discussions between the Centre and the Karnataka government over shelving Corridor 3 (Whitefield-Kengeri) of the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP) , V Somanna, Minister of State for Railways, said on Tuesday that the current priority is to implement Corridors 2 and 4 of the project. Somanna’s statement comes weeks after a discussion between him and M B Patil, Karnataka Industries Minister, over scrapping Corridor 3 connecting Whitefield and Kengeri because of its almost ‘similar alignment’ with that of Bengaluru Metro’s Purple Line. As per the Detailed Project Report (DPR), the source and destination stations of Corridor 3 are similar to that of the Purple Line. Government officials privy to the meeting told The Indian Express that talks were on to shelve Corridor 3 but no actionable decision has been taken yet. While Corridor 1 connects KSR Bengaluru to KIA Airport, Corridor 2 connects Benniganahalli to Chikkabanavara and Corridor 4 will run from Heelalige to Rajanakunte. “Our priority right now is to set the ball rolling for corridors 2 and 4 where some progress has been made. Yes, the minister (M B Patil) and I had discussions on the workability of Corridor 3 a few weeks ago… when you already have Bengaluru Metro along the same lines. Corridors 2 and 4 will be our priority, while corridors 1 and 3 will be put on the back burner for now,” Somanna told The Indian Express. “The Indian Railways is doing enough in terms of quadrupling, circular railway network, and other railway infrastructure work to connect Bengaluru to the suburbs. Implementing corridors 1 and 3 has its own set of challenges and I personally believe K-RIDE does not have the required infrastructure to complete it. It involves a lot of technical, infrastructural and administrative work to push corridors 1 and 3, which K-RIDE does not currently have,” he added. K-RIDE is a joint venture of the Karnataka government and the Ministry of Railways that is implementing BSRP. Somanna also said he was satisfied with the progress made under N Manjula, K-RIDE Managing Director. Manjula also serves as the secretary to the Karnataka government, infrastructure development, and as secretary of the Kannada and culture department. “I am happy with the progress made under the present managing director of K-RIDE. However, without a full-time administrator, we cannot speed up the suburban railway project. Additionally, we need a person who is also technically sound. I have urged the Karnataka government multiple times to appoint a technically qualified person to lead K-RIDE. After the (Winter) Session, I will once again urge the government to appoint a full-time and technically sound managing director for K-RIDE,” said Somanna. Rail enthusiasts and citizen forums are unhappy with the discussions on shelving Corridor 3 and have called the move a “disservice to Bengaluru”. Rajkumar Dugar, a convenor for the Citizens for Citizens forum, argued that such a discussion was flawed and against the tenets of multi-modal transportation. Corridor 3 integrates with C1 (at Majestic) and C2 (at Benniganahalli) while also integrating with the SWR network at all intermediate railway stations, particularly KSR City/Majestic, Cantonment and Baiyyappanahalli, he added. “The basic idea of C3 becoming redundant due to the availability of Metro between the same endpoints is flawed since both road and (South Western Railway) rail options were already available between the same endpoints before the Metro was implemented. By that approach, the Metro was not needed to the airport or anywhere because roads or buses or cheaper rail options were already available and only needed to be leveraged or improved at much less investment and effort,” he said. “Also, when an elevated road or tunnel road is planned, it is already known that the at-grade road is already available and maybe even Metro is available or will become available along the same alignment. That does not deter the planning of elevated roads and tunnel roads. So, why should BSRP C3 be scrapped on this ground?” Duggar asked. He further stated that Metro stations have been designed to handle only six-coach trains whereas BSRP stations are being built for nine-coach trains, resulting in 50 per cent higher carrying capacity than Metro. The BSRP was sanctioned on October 21, 2020, with four corridors spanning 148 km, aimed for full commissioning by October 2026, with the Airport Corridor (C1) targeted for completion by October 2023. However, four years on, progress has been slow. While Corridor C1A (KSR-Yelahanka) is still in the tendering phase, Corridor C1B (Yelahanka-Airport-Devanahalli) remains in the planning stage, with no on-ground work initiated. Corridor C2 (Beniganahalli-Chikkabanavara) was awarded to L&T on August 26, 2022, and has achieved only 28 per cent progress. Similarly, Corridor C4 (Heelalige-Rajankunte), awarded to L&T on December 30, 2023, has completed just 4 per cent of the work. Meanwhile, Corridor C3 (Kengeri-Whitefield) is also stuck in the planning stage, with no physical work started. Though 66 per cent of the project timeline has lapsed, only about 8 per cent of the overall work has been completed. Sanath Prasad is a senior sub-editor and reporter with the Bengaluru bureau of Indian Express. He covers education, transport, infrastructure and trends and issues integral to Bengaluru. He holds more than two years of reporting experience in Karnataka. His major works include the impact of Hijab ban on Muslim girls in Karnataka, tracing the lives of the victims of Kerala cannibalism, exploring the trends in dairy market of Karnataka in the aftermath of Amul-Nandini controversy, and Karnataka State Elections among others. If he is not writing, he keeps himself engaged with badminton, swimming, and loves exploring. ... Read More None
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