BENGALURU: While the commissioning of the Metro line from R V Road to Bommasandra is being eagerly awaited by employees in both phases of Electronics City, a massive relief is in store for them when another portion of the 48-km Doubling Project being carried out between Baiyappanahalli and Hosur gets completed. The Heelalige station is in the vicinity of Chandapura and is located 3 km and 5 km from Electronics City-2 and Electronic City-1 respectively.
The Rs 498.73-crore doubling project from Baiyappanahalli via Bellandur Road, Karmelaram, Huskuru, Heelalige, Anekal, and Marayanayakanahali ends at Hosur.
Director, Projects, Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Enterprises (K-RIDE) R K Singh told TNIE, “The 10.5 km stretch from Karmelaram to Heelalige stations has already been commissioned. By the end of this financial year, we will be commissioning the Bellandur Road to Karmelaram, a distance of 3.5 km which is of crucial importance. In addition to it, a 7-km stretch between Anekal and Maranayakanahalli will also be commissioned.”
Singh added, “The single rail track at Bellandur Road is being augmented with four more tracks now, thereby letting us have five tracks here. A new station is also being created at Huskuru between Karmelaram and Heelalige. All these are measures to upgrade infrastructure to run more trains. ”
SWR has also constructed four new platforms at Bengaluru Cantonment. With such infrastructure in place, South Western Railway could run a train every 30 minutes from Cantonment towards Heelalige from March 2024. They need to ready two new MEMU 8-coach trains to run these trips.
A Road Under Bridge between Baiyappanahalli and Whitefield is also being widened in connection with the Doubling project.
Urban transportation expert Sanjeev Dyammanavar said, “The quadrupling project between Bengaluru Cantonment and Whitefield and this doubling project could together make a big difference to the way people commute. The Chandapura junction is in the vicinity of the Healalige station. It is close to Electronics City-2 and will be 5 km from Electronics City-1.
More trains here on the route will be a big game-changer. Those heading even to Sarjapur, for instance to the Wipro office, for work will benefit enormously. Those who visit Anekal and Karmelaram among other areas will benefit.”
The entire Baiyappanahalli-Hosur doubling project has a deadline of December 2024.
Asked about the possibility of running more trains after the Doubling is commissioned, Divisional Railway Manager Yogesh Mohan, told TNIE, “Let K-RIDE execute their work first. When it is in place, we will do whatever is possible from our side to ease travel for the public.”
BMTC needs to get involved to make it a success
Fierce public transport activist Srinivas Alavilli spearheading the #Personal2Public campaign told TNIE, “We already have a good number using the Yesvantpur-Hosur train and alighting at Heelalige. For instance, BIOCON employees use it and the company runs shuttle buses from there to its office. If more trains are run after the doubling is done, it will be patronised by many only if feeder buses are provided by BMTC to all nearby areas, like is being done now for BMRCL’s Purple Line from K R Pura to Silk Board.
“The feeder buses get a very good response now. BMTC plans to run 300 of them by April 2024. They need to run some here as suburban rail feeder services, for instance, up to the Wipro office at Sarjapur and so on.”