Bengaluru Commuter Rail

Bengaluru Commuter Rail

Overview
Owner	Indian Railways
Area served	In and around Bangalore
Locale	Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Transit type	Suburban rail
Number of lines	4
Operation
Operator(s)	Bangalore Suburban Rail Company Limited, Indian Railways
Technical
System length	148.17 kilometres (92.07 mi)
Track gauge	Broad Gauge
System map

Bengaluru Commuter Rail is a proposed suburban rail network for the city of Bangalore. A Commuter Rail system for the city was first proposed in 1983. Since then, several different route proposals were made but no Commuter Rail project took shape. It was finally approved in the 2019 Railway Budget. On 1 February 2020, finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned in her budget that the project would be implemented at cost of Rs 18,600 crores. The central government would provide 20% of the equity and facilitate external assistance up to 60 percent of the project cost.

History

A Suburban rail service existed in Bangalore as early as in 1963 for HAL employees to commute from City Railway station to Vimanapura Railway station. A formal Commuter Rail system for Bangalore had first been proposed by a team from Southern Railway in 1983. Their recommendation had been to invest in 3 commuter rail lines and a 58-km ring railway. The package was estimated to cost Rs. 6,500 million in 1983 terms (US$628.6 million) spread over a 25-year period.

In 1993, the State of Karnataka established another committee to look into mass rapid transit. This committee recommended essentially the same put forward by Southern Railway in 1983 and the same circular railway.

In 2007, RITES (Rail Indian Technical and Economic Services) was commissioned by the Government of Karnataka to conduct a CTTP (Comprehensive Traffic & Transportation Plan) for the city of Bangalore. Their report called for 10 Suburban Rail routes totaling 204.0 km. As per the report, Commuter Rail (along existing rail routes) would cost much lesser than mass rapid transit systems.

Proposal made by Praja in 'Call To Action' Report (July 2010)

In July 2010, a proposal was made by Praja Bangalore in a 'Call To Action' report. This plan was supported & presented at the center for infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CisTup), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. The proposal had suggested a 376 km network around three hubs (Yeswanthpur, Benniganahalli & Yelahanka) with 42 new stations. A key recommendation was to use the congested KSR, Bangalore city station only as a pass-through station.

In November 2011, RITES conducted a feasibility study exclusively for suburban rail services in Bangalore and submitted their final report to the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) in November 2012. The 179-page report studied all existing routes totaling 440.8 km of the rail network in & around the city & development of Suburban Rail services over three phases.

Existing and Proposed Rail Network

The state government approved the suburban rail system on 5 July 2013. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah approved the system in the 2013-14 state budget that he presented on 9 July 2013. The budget proposed the setting up of the Bangalore Suburban Rail Corporation Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to implement the project estimated to cost ₹87.59 billion (US$1.2 billion).

In the 2016-17 Railway budget, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu announced a partnership with Karnataka government for a Rs. 9000-crore Suburban Rail network for Bangalore, but did not allocate any funds. On 3 February 2016, the state government proposed a modified version of the original RITES plan. This looked to kick-start the project with a Rs. 1,000-crore investment to connect Mandya with Kengeri, Whitefield with Baiyappanahalli and Tumkur with Yeswanthpur. The state government released 100 crore towards this. The state appointed RITES again to study the feasibility of the project, and the latter's survey deemed the project as feasible. However, Railways stated that the proposed Phase Two of the project (linking Tumkur and Yeswanthpur) was not feasible.

In November 2018, RITES prepared a revised plan for a 161 km network that was again amended in August 2019 to reduce costs. Out of 82 stations, 29 stations were deleted, route length reduced to 148 km & costs lowered to Rs. 16,000 crores. This was finally accepted by Government of India.

Route proposals

A) Routes recommended by RITES for CTTP - 2007

Corridor	Length (km)
Kengeri - Bangalore City Station	13.0
Bangalore City Station - Whitefield	24.0
Bangalore City Station – Baiyappanahalli Via Lottegollahalli	23.0
Lottegollahalli to Yelahanka	7.0
Banaswadi up to BMA Boundary	29.0
Kengeri- BMA Boundary	9.0
Yeshwantpur to BMA Boundary	14.0
BMA Boundary – Hosur	12.0
BMA Boundary- Ramanagaram	23.0
BMA Boundary to Tumkur	50.0
Total	204.0

B) Routes proposed by Praja in July, 2010

Route	Distance (km)
Yeswantpur - Yelahanka - Devanahalli – Chickballapur	60
Benninganahalli - Thanisandra - Yelahanka – Doddballapur	37
Yeswantpur - Benninganahalli - Anekal – Hosur	66
Tumkur/Nelamangala - Yeswantpur – Benninganahalli	83
Yelahanka - Benninganahalli - Whitefield - Malur – Bangarpet	80
Yelahanka - Yeshwantpur - City - Kengeri – Ramanagara	50
Total route length (km)	376

C) Routes studied by RITES, as per their final report of November, 2012

From	To	Distance (km)
City	Mandya	92.88
City	Yeshwanthpur	5.35
Yeshwanthpur	Tumkur	64.00
Yeshwanthpur	Yelahanka	12.45
Yelahanka	Baiyappanahalli	19.23
Yeshwanthpur	Baiyappanahalli	16.12
Yelahanka	Dodballapur	20.72
Yelahanka	Chikkaballapura	46.05
Baiyappanahalli	Hosur	48.59
City	Baiyappanahalli	10.76
Baiyappanahalli	Bangarpet	59.45
Soladevanahalli	Kunigal	45.2
Total →		440.8

D) Routes proposed by RITES & approved

Route	Distance	Ridership (Estd, Lakhs)	Length (km)		No. of Stations
			Elevated	Surface	Elevated	Surface
KSR Bengaluru City to Devanahalli	41.40	2.82	18.98	22.42	8	7
Baiyappanahalli to Chikkabanavara	25.01	2.03	12.905	12.105	6	8
Kengri to Whitefield	35.52	1.64	10.40	25.12	4	10
Heelalige to Rajanakunte	46.24	3.34	13.29	32.95	4	15
Total	148.17	9.83	55.575	92.595	22	40*

^{*The total number of stations is 58 (figures under individual routes include interchange stations).}

Current Status

Though approved in principle by Government of India, budget allocations have been paltry over the last few years as only token amounts have been allocated. On 7 October, 2020, the project was approved by Prime Minister's Office and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (headed by the Prime Minister). The State Government commenced providing budgetary support for the Suburban Rail project & 500 crores was allocated in the 2020-21 budget. Meanwhile, KRide has kick-started the Suburban project by calling tenders for Land Survey, hiring staff etc.

Current operation by Indian Railways

1. Indian Railways south west railway zone operates several suburban train services from Bengaluru to Hosur, Jolarpettai, Tumakuru, Marikuppam, Bangarpet, Hindupur, Mysuru and Hassan.
2. Hosur and Jolarpettai is across the border in Tamil Nadu and Hindupur is in Andhra Pradesh, while Tumakuru, Bangarpet, Mysuru and Hassan are in Karnataka.
3. Service to and from Hassan, Hindupur, Hosur and Tumakuru will operate from Yesvantpur station in the city's northern suburb, while service to Marikuppan, Bangarpet and Jolarpettai will be to and from Bengaluru main city station.
4. The zonal railway has been operating daily suburban service between Bengaluru and Mysuru. Diesel Electrical Multiple Unit (DEMU) and Mainline Electrical Unit (MEMU) cars will be used for the services on the suburban routes.

External links

• Govt. exploring rail line to BIAL
• Lobby group for commuter rail in Bangalore
• Presentation by Divisional Rly Manager
• CRS Bangalore Ride and Meet