Railway line electrification to benefit flyers

Numerous electrification projects from Bangalore Division have been submitted to the Railway Electrification Board for approval.
Numerous electrification projects from Bangalore Division have been submitted to the Railway Electrification Board for approval. (Photo | Nagaraja Gadekal, EPS)
Numerous electrification projects from Bangalore Division have been submitted to the Railway Electrification Board for approval. (Photo | Nagaraja Gadekal, EPS)

BENGALURU: In a move that can enormously benefit flyers heading to the airport, the Bangalore Railway Division has decided to accord top priority to the electrification of the 23-km line between Yelahanka and Devanahalli. This step will help run mainline electric multiple unit (MEMU) trains up to Devanahalli. Divisional Railway Manager Ashok Kumar Verma told TNIE, “We have written to the Railway Electrification Board to consider our request. Many trains halt at Yelahanka at present, as electrification ends at this point. This will help us extend services until the vicinity of the airport.”

Numerous electrification projects from Bangalore Division have been submitted to the Railway Electrification Board for approval. “We have now decided that this specific 23-km stretch deserves to be done first. It is part of the Yelahanka-Bangarpet (via Kolar) electrification project. If approved, the Yelahanka-Devanahalli line can be completed within a year,” he said. This stretch alone would cost between Rs 15 crore and Rs 20 crore. 

Urban transportation expert Sanjeev Dyamannavar said electrification beyond Yelahanka was crucial, and a long-time demand of rail activists. “Yelahanka is like a junction and you have trains from Baiyappanahalli, Whitefield, Bengaluru City and Yesvantpur reaching this point. If they can be taken beyond Yelahanka to the airport, it would enormously benefit those heading to the airport.” Due to lack of electrification, only four pairs of Diesel Electric Multiple Units (DEMU) run between Yelahanka and Devanahalli. Many MEMUs can be launched post-electrification, he added. 

Dyamannavar also suggested that two vital projects need to be taken up simultaneously.  “A crossing line needs to be come up at Doddajajur, so that trains can run onwards and return. If that is not done, it would cause traffic congestion. A crossing line would cost around Rs 10 crore,” he said Another requirement is that a second platform, a higher one, needs to be built at Devanahalli railway station to facilitate smooth running of trains along this stretch, he added. A halt station is also being built by airport operator Bangalore International Airport Limited, at the newly created station near Devanahalli, named Kempegowda International Airport Station. It has been proposed to run shuttle buses from this point to the airport terminal. 

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