Bengaluru is blessed with railway tracks going in seven directions. Its total railway network of over 400 kms covers seven districts around it. With the city’s population crossing 1.2 crore and expected to grow, multi-modal transport involving the BMTC, suburban rail and the Metro could bring relief to a huge number of commuters.
The suburban rail has the potential of carrying over 25 lakh passengers over a distance of 50 to 60 kms in 60 to 70 minutes. A skeletal service already carries over two lakh commuters on the Whitefield, Ramanagara, Tumakuru, Hosur and Yelahanka route.
The need for a suburban rail has been felt for many decades but the state government and Ministry of Railways realised its importance for Bengaluru after various citizen groups took up the issue with support from city MPs.
And now the Railways and government have, with the help of RITES, taken the bold decision to have exclusive tracks for a suburban rail within city limits. It’s good to see that 650 acres from the railways and 150 acres from the state government will be provided for the project. But the authorities should ensure that the suburban rail also connects Bengaluru to its neighboiring towns like Tumakuru, Bangarpet, Doddaballapura, Chikkaballapur, Ramanagara, Hosur and Nelamanagala as envisaged in 2011.
At present the service will run over 160 kms with 84 stations. This will take six years to complete.
Eventually, the suburban rail should become a lifeline for commuting within the city and its nearby areas for all sections of working people, integrating with the Metro, BMTC, railway coaching terminals, airport and industrial hubs. To ensure the project is implemented in a time –bound fashion, cooperation between the state government and the Ministry of Railways and allocation of funds will be crucial. Other government agencies too need to give their full support to the project as it will be a blessing for the people, increase the GDP of the state, enhance the railways' capacity for running more inter-city trains, and reduce the need to create other expensive infrastructure for traffic on the roads.
