BENGALURU: The Railway Board has sanctioned works for setting up a suburban terminal at Bengaluru Cantonment Railway station at an estimated cost of Rs 37.94 crore. This will facilitate the starting of new suburban services from the Cantonment station, said a senior railway official. Tenders for the project will be called for shortly.
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of South Western Railway, KC Swami told The New Indian Express, “This terminal will cater to commuters from Cantonment to Hosur, Marikuppam, Tumukuru, Devanahalli among other places. This is not a part of the Rs 16,000 crore plus dedicated suburban rail network project proposed for the city as that is a stand-alone project.”
“The new terminal is set to have four platforms (two island platforms) running to a length of 475 metres. They will have platform shelters,” Swami added. Billing it as a major step to meet the demand for more suburban services, a senior official said, “Right now, we are not able to run more suburban services due to the lack of enough platforms with us. This new terminal with its four platforms can meet 50 per cent of the demand for suburban services. During peak time, a minimum of six trains can run from here,” he said.
The CAO said that the terminal will have a new station building that will cater only to suburban services. “The built up area of the terminal will be about 3,200 square metres,” he said. The terminal will have three new stabling lines for receiving and despatching trains. “They would be in addition to the existing two stabling lines,” he said. The lines can handle trains extending to a length of 20 coaches, the CAO said. Swami said the bridge on Millers Road will be extended to the required length.