Suburban rail inches towards reality

Bengaluru: After a three decade long battle for commuter train, finally it is a victory for citizens of Bengaluru who carried out Chukubuku campaign, said Alavalli Srinivas, co-ordinator for Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB).

Following a sustained and continuous protest and appraisal of the railway situation in Bengaluru, Railway Ministry has assured that the suburban rail services in Bengaluru would be taken up on 80:20 cost sharing basis between the State government and Railway Ministry and would be implemented by the Railways instead of forming a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), he explained.  

As per the letter sent to the Additional Chief Secretary of Karnataka Urban Development Department by the Ministry of Railways two projects have been approved. 

First, conversion of existing short distance 15 passenger trains into 12 Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) rakes (coaches) will be done at an estimated cost of Rs. 327.79 crore. Secondly, enhancement of maintenance facilities for MEMU at Banasawadi will be done at an estimated cost of Rs 29.45 crore. 

The railway ministry has assured that the cost for work of enhancement of maintenance facilities for MEMU rakes at Banaswadi would be incorporated in the supplementary budget 2017-18. Now, the emphasis should be given to make the suburban train operational and further, the railway ministry must keep up the same spirit with the state government. Further, enhancement of electrification and signaling will help optimizing of tracks to run more trains. 

“It’s big step for long pending suburban rail. We are sure that city will get MEMU rakes soon and more suburban services will be deployed. Thanks to state government and Railway minister for taking it forward seriously, “said Sanjeev Dyamannavar from Prajaa RAAG.  A senior official from urban development department said the state has to bear 80 per cent of the cost and Railway board has approved to pay 20 per cent. The work on suburban rail will begin shortly benefit commuters in Bengaluru and surrounding areas. The UDD hopes the railways would agree to pay 50 per cent, instead of 20. 

Protest against train delays 
Hundreds of rail commuters staged a flash protest at the Carmelaram railway station alleging that the trains are delaying inordinately. 

“We have trains, stations and adequate patronage for these trains. All we need is punctuality and increase in train frequency. This will help 14 lakh people as this is only track that connects all the major IT Tech Parks and also provides connectivity to three  different Metro Stations,” said a protestor.