BENGALURU: The South Western Railway (SWR) Zone has proposed shifting of 32 pairs of trains operating from five different stations within the Bengaluru Railway Division to the Baiyappanahalli Coaching Terminal when the first phase of the latter begins operations. A letter sent on May 20 from the SWR’s headquarters at Hubballi stated that shifting of these trains will “decongest the city”. The punctuality performance will be improved at Yeshwantpur and Bengaluru City area.”
“The proposal has been sent to the Railway Board for approval. It is yet to be approved,” General Manager, SWR, A K Singh, told TNIE.Howrah Express, Guwahati Express, Agartala Express, Ernakulam and Kochuveli Express are among the major trains that are likely to be shifted to Baiyappanahalli.
While the shifting of 19 pairs of trains from Yesvantpur have been proposed, a surprise element is the proposal to shift only two pairs of trains from KSR railway station. The letter suggests shifting of five pairs each from Banaswadi and Cantonment stations and one pair from KR Puram. While it states the Third Coaching Terminal’s operations will begin by June-end, reliable sources said put the date anywhere between July and September.
A highly placed source said the intermittent and heavy rains in the city had massively affected the schedules of the ongoing infrastructure work. “It could take us another 20 days to complete all pending works. So, July-end would be a safe bet for the first phase to be ready,” he added.
Another source said that apart from delay caused on account of rain, different Railway departments like Signalling and Telecommunication, Engineering, Mechanical and outsourced contractors are working at the same place simultaneously.”One department needs to wait until another completes its work. This is taking some time. Moreover, the departments are not having enough manpower,” he said. Stating the terminal could begin operations by August or even September.