BENGALURU: Connectivity to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) via the proposed dedicated suburban rail corridor for the city is a much better option than the proposed connectivity via Metro Rail, states consultancy firm Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES).
The firm, mandated with the preparation of the feasibility report on the suburban rail for the city, submitted its draft report to the Railways on Friday night, just meeting its extended one-month deadline.
After a seven-month exhaustive study of the transportation and infrastructure system of the city and future traffic, RITES has finalised four major corridors (see box inside) for the suburban rail network with connectivity to the airport suggested from the fourth corridor, say highly placed sources.
This corridor needs to link Heelalige (a small station near Karmelaram railway station) to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) via Baiyappanahalli, Channasandra and Yelahanka, they say.
RITES has proposed establishing a new railway station near the Bengaluru-Hyderabad National Highway just before Devanahalli railway station, which would directly lead into two railway stations at the airport, a source explained.
“The line which will cost Rs 1,500 crore will have one station at the cargo terminal and one underground station below the parking area of the airport. This proposed additional link will be about 6km, of which 4km will be underground, 1km at grade level and 1km at elevated level,” a source explained.
While the Centre has approved the corridor at a cost of Rs 17,000 crore, the report puts the estimated cost as Rs 19,498.9 crore.
Taking the assistance of drones to conduct aerial surveys, consultancy firm Rail India Technical and Economic Service has finalised four railway corridors for the suburban rail network running to a length of 161km, in the draft of its feasibility report submitted on Friday. It has also proposed broad gauge tracks which would be designed such that the proposed six-car trains can even run at 90kmph.
According to highly placed sources, drones were flown over the length of all corridors, and images were acquired through photo chromatic cameras so that there would be no stumbling blocks at the implementation stage.
“A big positive was that when a household opinion survey was conducted to assess whether Bengalureans were open to shift to a good public transport system, nearly 96 per cent of the respondents replied in the affirmative,” a source said. The network will run to a total of 141.5km, with 61.12km of the tracks elevated and 80.38km at grade level. In addition, two lines of the nearly 19km track between Bengaluru Cantonment to Whitefield, where quadrupling of tracks is on, will be added later. Overall, there will be 55 at-grade stations and 31 elevated ones.
Running of trains from 5 am to midnight, with a 30-second halt at each station, have been proposed. The scheduled speed is suggested as 32kmph.
Integration with other transportation modes through skywalks, Foot Over Bridges have been suggested for 10 stations, including Kengeri, KSR Railway Station, Bengaluru Cantonment and Lottegollahalli.
In all, 64.83 acres of private land and 717.5 acres of railway land will be required for the suburban corridor.
“Automatic fare collection gates on the line of Metro Rail have been proposed along with elevators,” another official said. Operation and maintenance of the network is expected to cost Rs 711 crore in the year 2025 and touch Rs 3,406 crore in 2051. Revenue from tickets is expected to be Rs 858 crore in 2025 and touch Rs 4,769 crore by 2051.