Bengaluru Suburban Rail: Four Firms Submit Bids For Civil Works For 46.24 Km 'Kanaka' Corridor 4

Four firms have submitted bids for the design and construction of the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project's Corridor 4 (Kanaka Line). 

The 46.24km long Corridor 4 (Kanaka Line) will connect Heelalige in the southern side of the city to Rajanakunte via Baiyappanahalli, Channasandra and Yelahanka.

In January this year, Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (K-RIDE), a special purpose vehicle formed by the government of Karnataka and the Union Ministry of Railways for executing the project, floated the civil work tender for Kanaka Line.

K-RIDE invited bids under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model for the design and construction of an elevated viaduct (length: 8.96 km) and at-grade formation of 37.92 km length (excluding station buildings). The scope of work also includes road widening, side drains, and construction of service roads.

L&T Ltd, Afcons Infrastructure Ltd, INTARVO Technologies, and Dinesh Chandra R Agrawal Infracon Pvt Ltd participated in the tender.

As per the tender documents, the bidders were expected to separate lumpsum quotes for the Kanaka Line's 8.96 km elevated and 37.92 km at-grade sections.

The technical evaluation of bids will commence immediately and financial bids will be opened thereafter. K-RIDE is likely to award the contract by the end of this year.  The successful bidder is expected to execute the work in 30 months.

19 Stations In Kanaka Line

Kanaka Line will comprise of 19 stations at Rajanukunte, Muddanahalli, Yelahanka (interchange), Jakkur, RK Hegde Nagar, Thanisandra, Hennur, Horamavu, Channasandra, Benniganahalli (interchange), Kaggadasapura, Doddanekkundi, Marathahalli, Belandur Road, Carmelaram, Ambedkar Nagar, Huskur, Singena Agrahara, Bommasandra and Heelalige.

While Marathahalli and Yelahanka stations will be elevated, the remaining stations will be at-grade.

Namma Metro and Kanaka Line in Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP) corridor will share a common alignment for a distance of 650m between Benniganahalli and Channasandra.

Tenders for the construction of 19 stations for Corridor 4 is likely to open in August.

K-RIDE is also set to receive 193 acres of railway land for Corridor 4 by July-end. It is also in the process of acquiring private land for laying eight kilometres of tracks. 

Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project

The commuter rail network will comprise four corridors, and 57 stations, and cover 148.17 km.

Corridor-1 (Sampige line) connects Kempegowda International Airport.

Corridor 3 (Parijatha Line) from Kengeri to Whitefield is the other line.

Corridor 4-Kanaka Line is from Heelalige to Rajankunte. There are 19 stations over its 46 km of total length.

It is being built at the cost of Rs 15,767 crore.

The implementing agency is seeking 800 million euros in loans to finance the suburban rail project.

The project was first proposed in 1983 by a southern railways expert team and was estimated to span 58 km. The proposal was included in Karnataka's first transportation survey, commissioned by the then chief minister R Gundu Rao.

On 20 June 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the suburban rail project in the city.

Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project will link Bengaluru to its satellite townships, suburbs, and surrounding rural areas through a rail-based rapid-transit system network.