Bengaluru Suburban rail users a frustrated lot

Bengaluru: The announcement on the implementation of the Bengaluru Suburban Rail by the Railway Ministry, has not led to any material change on the ground. There has no doubt been a surge in the number of users, especially white collar workers heading towards Baiyappanahalli, Bellandur, Karmelram and the rest of the IT corridor. However, none of this matters as the Centre’s Pink Book did not allocate funds for doubling and electrification of the crucial Yeshwanthpur-Hosur line, limiting its potential.

“Around 9000 techies take the suburban train to work every single day, to the 2500 odd big and small software companies. For example, Bellandur station is 1.9 km from Prestige Tech Park, Karmelram station is 3.2 kms from Wipro, Whitefield and Hoodi stations are around 8 km from ITPL and SAP respectively,” said Suhas Narayana, who works in an MNC and takes the train everyday, adding that trains could be late by 30 minutes on most days leaving officer goers frustrated. Last month, two rail rokos were held by commuters, who were angry with the low frequency and delays.  

Sanjeev Dyamnavar, transport expert pointed out that majority of the problems could be solved by doubling of the railway line. “The Yeshwanthpur-Hosur line is a single track, while the line towards Whitefield is double. This means many a time, other trains coming from Hosur have to stop for Express trains to pass. It is basically a one way traffic situation, leading to poor punctuality and delayed service,” Dyamnavar said.

For example, the Nagarcoil Express takes 30 minutes to travel between Bellandur and Bengaluru city and is a non-stop train. So other trains like Karaikal passenger train passing through Karmelram, Heelalige and Bellandur will have to wait for the former to pass.

Commenting on the possible solutions, member of Karnataka Railway Vedike,  Krishna Prasad said, “Doubling does not need as much land as  building a new track. The station is the same, only the platform has to be added. There are 6 pairs of daily trains moving on the Hosur line, touching the IT corridor and 5/6 non-daily trains. Doubling and electrification will take around 2 years.”

When asked about their plan to address the issue, Vijaya the Chief Public Relations Officer (SWR) said,” We have been proposing doubling for the past 2 years but the Ministry has not sanctioned funds for it. Once approved, we won't need much land. We are pushing for the same and have proposed it in the supplementary budget, to be discussed in Parliament's Monsoon session”

“Once sanctioned, we will conduct land surveys to determine the space and budget needed,” she added.

Walk, Walk, Walk...

• Wipro is 3.1 kms, RMZ Ecoworld is 3.5 kms, RMZ Ecospace is 4.7 kms from Karmelram railway station.
• Infosys is 8 kms from Heelalige railway station.
• Whitefield and Hoodi stations are around 8 km from ITPL and SAP respectively.
• 9000 employees take Suburban Rail on the 61 km Yeshwanthpur-Hosur track.
• Embassy Tech Park is 1.8 kms and Prestige Tech Park is 1.9 kms from Bellandur railway station.