Bengaluru Suburban Rail: SWR Approves 111 Acre Land Transfer For Kanaka Corridor

Kanaka, the corridor 4 of the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project, is set to become a reality as South Western Railway has greenlit the transfer of 115 acres of land to Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE), the joint venture overseeing the 148-km rail network's implementation.

The proposed corridor will span 47 km, connecting Heelalige in the south to Rajanukunte in the north. After a prolonged negotiation, both agencies have reached a 'consensus' on the required extent of rail land for the project. An official memorandum of understanding (MoU) is anticipated to be inked within days.

In December, K-RIDE had already awarded the construction contract for the corridor, encompassing a nine km elevated line and 38 km at-grade line.

Currently, work is progressing solely on the Mallige Line, which runs from Chikkabanavara to Byappanahalli, among the four designated corridors. A tender worth Rs 1,040 crore has been granted for corridor 4 works.

Initially estimated to necessitate 194 acres of land, detailed discussions led to the revision of the requirement to 115 acres. An SWR official affirmed that there's no delay in land transfer, as alignment plans for the corridor received recent approval, with the transfer pending the finalisation of the MoU.

Concurrently, K-RIDE has initiated the process of acquiring private land essential for the project, issuing four notifications for the acquisition of 63,193 square metres of land, with the final notification for 17,987 square metres already published.

A K-RIDE official mentioned that preliminary works for corridor 4 are underway, with construction poised to commence upon the handover of land by SWR.

The transferred rail land will be utilised for track laying and partly for station construction. The official also assured the expeditious acquisition of private land needed for the project, reports Times Of India.

This milestone follows SWR's prior allocation of 157 acres for another suburban rail line stretching from Byappanahalli to Chikkabanavara.

BSRP Project

The existing BSRP project plan comprises four corridors with a total length of 148.17 km. The project cost is estimated at Rs 15,677 crore.

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).

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