BENGALURU: Work on developing Byappanahalli as a third coach terminal in the city is yet to pick up despite the congestion at Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station and Yeshwantpur. As a result, the city hasn’t got an inter-city train in three years.
on February 16, Rs 3 crore was allocated by the railway ministry for the project. Tender bids too have been called but the work has not taken off.
Sanjiv Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager of South Western Railway, said, “The tender has been called and the construction team is being finalised. It will take another 2-3 months for the work to begin. The project will take at least two years to get commissioned. We will then think of how traffic can be diverted from City Railway Station to Byappanahalli.”
In June, South Western Railway (SWR) had called for a tender for Rs 16 crore to construct pit lines, stabling lines and cat walks for watering work. Work amounting to a total of Rs 23 crore will be taken up for the coaching terminal at Byappanahalli.
Sanjeev V Dyamannavar, a railway expert, said, “Once Byappanahalli terminal is developed, we will have six platforms. The stations at Majestic and Yeshwantpur are not equipped to handle the traffic. We need to increase the terminal capacity. When suburban rail starts functioning, some of the inter-city trains can be shifted to Byappanahalli during peak hours.”
The City Railway Station handles about 67 out-station trains while 42 trains leave from Yeshwantpur station daily. Byappanahalli railway station is a favourable choice for an inter-modal transit hub, considering Namma Metro and KSRTC bus stand are nearby.