Hoody railway station to get facelift soon

Bengaluru: After a report in Deccan Chronicle on the pathetic condition of Hoody railway halt station behind Shantineketan Apartments and near ITPL, Bengaluru Divisional Railway Anil Kumar Agarwal and MP P.C. Mohan inspected the station. Now, Mr Mohan has promised to finance the construction works at the station from his MP fund.

Due to massive traffic jams from Old Airport Road to Varthur Road and Old Madras Road to Whitefield Road, many IT professionals working in ITPL had started opting for passenger trains passing through this station.

Citizens have been demanding the authorities to upgrade the station to facilitate the working class in and around ITPL.

“Earlier, trains used to stop only to pick up the railway staff. Gradually, the public, especially those working in ITPL and surrounding areas too started using the trains passing through this station.

I have been told that even pregnant women make use of these trains and it is quite difficult for them to get into or down from the train in the absence of basic facilities.

The expenditure will be Rs 60-80 lakh. I have promised the authorities to fund the project. I have asked the Railways to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and work on the design,” Mr Mohan said.

Around 3-4 lakh people travel to ITPL and nearby areas daily. Half of them come in contracted buses or public transport. There seems to be a huge potential for the Railways to earn revenues in this stretch.

“We have asked the MP to fund the railway station project. We are waiting for his consent letter. Once I receive that, I will send it to the GM. After his approval, we will call for tenders.  It will take sometime and may go up to six months,” Mr Anil Kumar Agarwal said.

Since constructing a fly overbridge and other things will cost more, the Railways at present is only looking at constructing basic amenities like platforms. To start with, the station will have two platforms.

The name for the station has not been finalised yet. Mr Agarwal said the DC will decide on the name once the platforms are ready.

Tanisandra railway station Citizens feel that if Bengaluru North MP Sadananda Gowda too takes up a similar initiative and upgrades and opens the Tanisandra railway station, it will benefit the commuters traveling to and from Tanisandra.