BENGALURU : The Union Cabinet has fixed a deadline of three years for completing the 41.4 km KSR Bengaluru-Kempegowda International Airport Line (Corridor I) of the Rs 15,767-crore Suburban Rail Network. The time frame announced for the completion of the entire 148.17 km line is six years.
An official confirmation sanctioning the Suburban Rail Project for the City, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on October 7, has not been made public due to the model code of conduct being in place in Bengaluru.
A letter officially conveying its approval has been sent from D K Mishra, Director, Metropolitan Transport Projects, Railway Board, to Amit Garg, Managing Director of K-RIDE, nodal agency for implementing the project. The letter issued on October 21 was made public by rail activists through social media on Tuesday night.
Giving the cost break-ups and deadlines, the letter specifies that the State and Centre shall each bear Rs 2,479 crore while K-RIDE would mobilize Rs 12,396 crore. “It is a historic occasion for Bengaluru which desperately needs such a transportation system,” said a senior railway official.
However, he hastened to add, “Both the deadlines announced are just not possible.” Another railway official pointed out that it has taken the Centre two years to just approve the project. “It is a project costing over Rs 15,000 crore. The designs have to be done. Consultants have to be called for and approvals obtained. Though Railways have 90% of the land with them, civil construction works would also require considerable time,” he said. The 3-year-period is too close, he said.
Mobilisation of funds would be the most challenging aspect, said an official familiar with such projects. “If you see the sanction letter closely, it says only around Rs 500 crore out of the Rs 2,479 crore would be provided by the Centre. The remainder will be mobilised through monetization of lands at the disposal of Railways. “Sale of land through tenders and finalizing bidders and then raising resources is time-consuming,” he added.
Sanjeev Dyam, urban transportation expert, said, “There is a possibility of building at grade stations on the airport route within three years, the section between Lottegahalli and KIA. However, the portion between KSR and Lottegahalli will be an elevated portion and constructing girders and laying tracks here would take much time.”