Bengaluru Suburban Railway: European Investment Bank Approves Rs 2693 Crore Funding, First Section To Be Operational By 2025-End

In a significant move towards advancing the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the world's largest multilateral financial institution has approved a loan of Rs 2693 crores for the initiative.

Under the financing structure, the project receives 20 per cent funding each from the Karnataka government and the Central government, while the remaining 60 per cent is secured through loans.

Rajesh Kumar Singh, Director of Projects and Planning at Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (KRIDE), confirmed the EIB's in-principle approval, stating, "The EIB has given its in-principle nod for the project for 300 million Euros on Wednesday (May 8). With this approval, the loan component for the Rs 15,767-crore suburban rail project has been fully mobilised."

Germany's KfW Development Bank is another significant contributor, having signed a loan agreement worth Rs 4,552 crore (500 million Euros) along with a grant of Rs 40.96 crore (4.5 million Euros) on 15 December 2023.

The existing BSRP project plan comprises four corridors with a total length of 148.17 km, with Larsen & Toubro Limited being awarded contracts for two of them. These corridors include KSR Bengaluru City to Devanahalli (corridor 1 - 41.4 km), Baiyappanahalli to Chikkabanavara (corridor 2 - 25.01 km), Kengeri to Whitefield (corridor 3 - 25.01 km), and Heelalige to Rajanukunte (corridor 4 - 46.25 km).

The initiation of work on the Kanaka Line was marked by the barricading of the railway line on 7 May. According to Singh, preliminary tasks such as soil testing and re-surveying were undertaken over the past four months.

The contractor is set to construct five minor bridges along this route, with the deadline for completion set at 30 months from the contract award date of 30 December 2023. The land from the railways was leased on 2 April 2024. Pre-construction activities, such as survey, drone video, light detection, ranging survey and GPR survey were completed.

As for the remaining corridors, Singh mentioned that the contract for the first corridor (Sampige Line), covering 41 km from KSR Bengaluru to Devanahalli via Yelahanka, will be partially awarded after the lifting of the model code of conduct, reports The New Indian Express.

"We initially plan to award the contract from KSR to Yelahanka via Yesvantpur shortly. We have submitted a proposal to the Railways to get their clearance for the alignment," he added.

Furthermore, he stated that the contract for the third corridor (Parijaata Line), spanning 35 km from Kengeri to Whitefield, will follow a month later.

The 7.4-kilometre stretch of Section 4 along Corridor-2, spanning from Chikkabanavara to Yeshwantpur, is slated to be the inaugural segment, with completion and commissioning scheduled for December 2025. Following this, Corridor-2 is anticipated to be fully operational by June 2026, while Corridor-4 is projected for completion by December 2026. The remaining two corridors are on track to be finalised by December 2027.

On 20 June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the suburban rail project in the city. He promised that the project would be completed in 40 months.

Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project with 58 new stations will link Bengaluru to its satellite townships, suburbs, and surrounding rural areas through a rail-based rapid-transit system network.