The suburban train services between KSR Bengaluru-Whitefield will begin shortly. An announcement related to it was made by Bengaluru Central’s Lok Sabha MP, PC Mohan who also said that they will make the schedule based on the suggestions of the public.
PC Mohan made the announcement after he attended a meeting headed by Suresh Angadi, the Minister of State Railways along with other South Western Railways officials. The meeting was held to discuss the pending and ongoing railway projects in the division. Angadi directed the rail officials to work in tandem with the state authorities to ensure speedy completion of all the pending projects.
Demand For Long-missing Trains Growing Louder
The automatic signaling works between Bengaluru and Whitefield was duly completed on August 16. After that, the demand for starting the long-missing trains have become louder. The full-fledged suburban rail service will be of great help to hundreds of employees from IT and garment sector as well as regular road commuters who travel from different parts of Bengaluru to reach the periphery of the city.
The rail service is a cost-effective option to travel in the city and also cuts down the congestion that is a major problem on Bengaluru roads. A public transport policy expert who has been using promoting the suburban rail since a long time, Sanjeev Dhyamanar said, “They can easily add trains on this route in the morning and evenings corresponding to office times with the easy availability of MEMU rakes. They should introduce some services from Banaswadi, Yeshwantpur or even Yehalanka to Whitefield two-three services each in morning and evening.”
He further added, “Introduction of these services will reduce road congestion and give relief to regular commuters. Additionally, now they have more space in Bengaluru station as many trains have been extended till Mysuru.”
Efforts To Be Made To Complete A Project At Stretch
The Chief Administrative Officer, Construction, KC Swami also gave a presentation in the meeting that discussed the important projects being undertaken by SWR for capacity enhancement. SWR officials said that instead of opening the work in patches at various new lines, the efforts should be made to complete one project at stretch.
But there was no discussion on the formation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) similar to the one used by BMRCL for the city metro. Reports say that due to delay on the part of both the Center and the state government, the project has been delayed for more than a decade.
