The Development and Significance of Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project

Introduction

Bengaluru Suburban Rail project is also known as Bengaluru Commuter Rail and it consists of railway network which is supposed to run through the Bengaluru city and connecting the nearby suburban areas around the city. Initially in the year of 1983, commuter rail system was 1^st proposed for the capital of the Karnataka state in the country- India. From that time onwards, there were various routes were proposed running through different places in and around the Bengaluru city. However, there was no real progress observed over the several decades. The Railway Budget in the year 2019 at last approved the proposal. This led to India’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, to mention about the above mentioned Bengaluru Suburban rail project, to be executed at the cost of eighteen thousand six hundred crore Rupees or about $2.232 billion USD, while presenting the budget for the country on 1^st Feb, 2020. The contribution of the central government with the cost of this project will be twenty percent and the Karnataka state government will also bear twenty percent of this project cost. The rest upto sixty percent of the project cost will be covered up by the central government in the form of external support. This rail project will be a unique one and a novel one in its kind in India. After completion, there will be rolling stock as well as facilities similar to what is available in the metros. Compared to the already established trains throughout the country, the Bengaluru Suburban Rail will be comparable to other suburban rails in India. The owner of this rail project will be Indian Railways and it will have four railway lines. The operator of this suburban rail will be Bengaluru Suburban Rail Company Ltd., and it will have Broad Gauge type of railway track. The total running length of the system is supposed to between 148 Km to 150 Km. as well as this project will serve as one of the advanced form of public transportation system in the future. Not only people living in the suburb areas of Bengaluru city will benefit from this project, but also the people living in the nearby towns or satellite towns and neighbouring villages, will also benefit from this project in the future. The project is expected to be completed by the year 2026 and the initial expected cost of the project was estimated at fifteen thousand seven hundred sixty seven crore Rupees or 157.67 billion Rupees or about $1.89204 billion USD, which is now expected to be over eighteen thousand crores or over 180 billion of Rupees or over $2.16 billion USD. This project is also called as the most integrated rail project of the country. This project is being handled and executed by the Rail Infrastructure Development Company, Karnataka, also known as K-RIDE, which is a combined project of the Karnataka state government as well as the Union Ministry of Railways. It is said that there will be 4 corridors and fifty seven stations will be connected, in such a way that the state capital will be able connect the outskirt areas in 6 different directions, Devanahalli (Kolar side), Kengeri (Mysuru side), Heelalige, Rajanukunte (Doddaballapura side), Whitefield (Bangarapet side), and Chikkabanavara (Tumakuru side). As mentioned earlier that there will be four corridors in this project, where they are called after the names of some commonly found local flowers which are generally found in the state capital and around its surrounding areas, like Parijata corridor was named after Prajakta flower, Sampige corridor was named after Champa flower, Kanaka corridor was named after Priyardarsha flower or after Kanak Champa flower, and Mallige corridor was named after Chameli flower. Taking out Sa from the name of Sampige corridor, M from the name of Mallige corridor, Par from the name of Parijata corridor, and Ka from the name of Kanaka corridor, after combining these letters in this order, they can form the word Samparka, which means connectivity in the state’s official language, Kannada. According to the official statements of K-RIDE, the project after completion will make sure in providing proper connectivity, convergence, economical travelling, and a form of sustainable mobility, suitability and marketable inducement. Since, a considerable amount of the costs of the project will be written off, as it was being raised with the help of land monetization as well as innovative project financing, so the charges are anticipated to economical. Additionally, this project in the state capital is planned in such a way, that it can assimilate with numerous modes of transportation services. According to the officials, at more than three-fifths of the stations of the project will provide facility to the passengers to switch to other forms of transportation services, like the passengers from these stations can switch to the local metro nearby services or nearby Indian Railways services. It is expected that the Bengaluru Suburban rail after completion, will be able carry ten lakhs or one million passengers on a day to day basis, also being a sustainable mobility sol, it will decrease the carbon footprint of the industrial city as well as putting an end to the city’s worrisome traffic problems. Plus, K-RIDE is also working on transformation of the stations involved in the project into an integrated commercial hubs, in order indorse Make in India initiative of PM Modi. According to the plan, these facilities will be termed as Smart Station Hubs. Hence, all the fifty seven stations involved in the project will be transformed into Smart Station Hubs, where general public will be able to do shopping, trade, work, as well as eating facilities available, and so on. Since, they will be multi-storey, so they will be easily able to assist in numerous different types of businesses, using air space for commercial events; allowing people to switch from rail to air, from rail to metro, as well as from rail to rail; land parcels in as well as around these stations to monetize. These Smart Station Hubs are also anticipated to be able to support retail in addition to shopping facilities, convention spaces, plug as well as play workspaces, hospitality, in addition to parking amenities within them.