Bengaluru Suburban Rail: K-RIDE To Soon Receive Railway Land Required For Project

According to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE), will soon receive the railway land needed for the Bengaluru suburban rail project.

K-RIDE (a joint venture between the state government and the Ministry of Railways) is the project's implementing agency.

According to the minister, a fully modern version of Mumbai's suburban rail, which transports over 85 lakh passengers, should be used as a model for the new suburban rail project.

The minister said, “I personally reviewed the Bengaluru suburban rail project three times in the last one year. There are significant modifications in designs brought in to make the project successful. The land allocation for the first leg of the project is already in process. Within a few days, land allocations will happen. We have already asked K-RIDE to go ahead with the project”, reports The Hindu.

K-RIDE issued a work order to Larsen & Toubro on 26 August for civil works on Corridor-2 (Mallige line).

Surveying, geotechnical investigation, utility identification, and test piling comprise preliminary civil work.

The contractor started preliminary works by barricading the work sites near Hebbal Railway Station. 

Despite the start of exploratory work, the project is allegedly not progressing swiftly because South Western Railway is taking time to transfer the land.

"The cost of the metro is tremendous which is between Rs 250 crore to Rs 300 crore per km. We accepted the task of constructing a network for less than Rs 100 crore per km. Our engineers have created novel designs. We are confident in our ability to deliver a world-class suburban rail infrastructure in Bengaluru", said Vaishnaw. 

K-RIDE is seeking 800 million euros in loans to finance the suburban rail project.

According to officials, the Hebbal-Banaswadi segment of this corridor is a priority. Six railroad level crossings (LCs 140 to 144A) will be replaced by rail under bridges (RUBs) in a year.

About 25.57 km long, Corridor-2 is estimated to be Rs 859.97 crore project. It is divided into two packages: Baiyyapanahalli-Lottegollahalli and Lottegollahalli-Chikkabanavar.

The 25.57 km long Mallige corridor will have stations at Byappanahalli, Kasturi Nagar, Sevanagar, Banaswadi, Kaveri Nagar, Nagawara, Kanakanagar, Hebbal, Lottegollahalli, Yeswantpur, Jalahalli, Shettihalli, Myadarahalli and Chikkabanavara.

The contractor will construct 9.72 km of the elevated line and 18.55 km at the grade line. The corridor will have 14 stations, and construction will begin later. K-RIDE has set a deadline of 24 months for the work.

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

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

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

It is being built at the cost of Rs 15,767 crore. K-RIDE will raise debt funding to the extent of Rs 7,438 crore through borrowings to implement the project. The Union and state governments will fund the remaining portion of the project.