BENGALURU: The Railways will take over the implementation of projects to the tune of Rs 1,745 crore, which are a part of the suburban rail network for the city, rather than the Special Purpose Vehicle as planned initially. The cost for implementing it will be shared 50:50 between the state and the Centre.
A high -level meet chaired by Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar at Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday with top officials has decided that five projects totalling Rs 1745 crore will be implemented by the Constructions office of the South Western Railway. “The SPV will go ahead with the implementation of the Rs 22,242 crore suburban railway project after a decision on the Detailed Project Report is taken by the Centre,” said a source.
Of the Rs 1745 crore projects, the doubling between Baiyappanahalli and Hosur (Rs 424 crore), the doubling line between Yesvantpur-Lottegahalli-Hebbal-Banaswadi-Baiyappanahalli-Channasandra (Rs 170 cr), conversion of 15 DEMU rakes to MEMU ones (Rs 56 crore) and procurement of 11 MEMU rakes (Rs 400 crore) have already been sanctioned.
Automatic signalling between Baiyappnahalli and Hosur, Baiyappanahalli-Yesvantpur-Tumukuru, Bengaluru-Mandya and Yesvantpur and Yelahanka are awaiting approval. The suburban project will be implemented with 20% share each by the state and the Centre and 60% mobilised via the SPV.
K-RIDE GETS NEW CEO
Amit Garg has been selected as the first Chief Executive Officer of the The Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Enterprises (K-RIDE). The B-RIDE, which is in the process of being formed under it, will carry out the suburban rail project for the city. “With a new CEO in place, the projects will gain a sense of direction,” a top official said. Garg is presently the Engineer Constructions (West) in South Western Railway. Railway Board Engineer Member Vishwesh Chaubey was in the City to finalise the selection process. “The official orders will be issued shortly,” said a highly placed source.