BENGALURU: Transportation experts across the city are finally relieved that the ball has been set rolling on the suburban railway front after two decades of wait. Details of the Phase-I of the project running to 161 kms and a 50:50 funding from the Centre and the State totalling Rs 12,061 crore, which were approved in the recent Union Budget, were made public on Tuesday.
Transportation expert MN Sreehari said when stretches under Phase-I are fully completed, the suburban network would take away anywhere between 30 per cent to 40 per cent of the city’s vehicular traffic that enters the city from the outskirts.
“Anywhere between 10 lakh and 15 lakh people commute to the city daily from the peripheral areas. By taking a huge number of them through rails, there will be a huge impact on the city’s traffic,” he said.
Sreehari, however, cautioned that the state needs to take steps to speed up everything. “When land acquisition problems crop up, there is a need to act fast and make land available for the project,” he added.
The expert also said that much work needs to be done now. “Laying of new tracks, electrification and development of stations are a few of them,” he said.
Srinivas Aluvelli, co-ordinator of the ‘Chikku Buku Beku’ campaign which attained nationwide popularity through their innovative protests across the city, is delighted over the Union Budget finally approving the project. “When we started the campaign in October 2016, we had to educate people about how much of a difference the suburban network could bring about to all our lives,” he said. The group had campaigned aggressively on the need for it through MPs, State Ministers and even interacted with former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu when he was in the city.
“Our sustained pressure has definitely played a role in maintaining the momentum on this front. The state and the Centre have been making quick moves in the last one year to ensure the suburban rail happens,” he said.
Aluvelli added, “The impending election in Karnataka has prompted the governments to make a concrete declaration finally.”
Sanjeev Dyamannavar, founder of Praja.in, an online citizens forum to discuss the city’s civic issues, said, “The urgent need now is to quickly set up the Special Purpose Vehicle by both the state and the Centre so that the project can move forward. With the Metro already in place in key areas, and if the first phase of the suburban network is rolled out in 3 to 4 years, the City’s traffic woes will finally have a solution.”
Gradually, the Railways should work towards shifting the proposed Mainline Electric Multiple Units (MEMUs) to Electric Multiple Units (EMUs). “EMUs have 1.5 times the carrying capacity of MEMUs and public do not have to climb steps to board trains as they will be on ground level. Platforms will have to be raised in future to facilitate this,” Dyamannavar said. Focus should then shift to implementing the entire suburban network of 440 km, he added.