Bengaluru suburban rail project cleared, announcement delayed by MCC

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KEY STORY

  • BENGALURU: Bengalureans grappling with notorious traffic snarls got some relief when the Union cabinet on Wednesday cleared the long-pending 148-km Bengaluru suburban rail project, sources said.
  • However, no official announcement was made due to election Model Code of Conduct in place due to byelections to assembly constituencies Sira and Rajarajeshwarinagar on November 3. A formal announcement is likely later.
  • Sources say the project was on Wednesday’s agenda and was discussed and cleared. However, Union railway minister Piyush Goyal at the press meet in New Delhi said: “We can’t disscuss or give any information as Model code of Conduct is in force in Bengaluru”.
  • A source who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) has given the nod for Bengaluru suburban rail project.
  • Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya told TOI the project will take off soon but refused to divulge details citing the poll code. Mohan said
  • He has been following up the project for several years. “I thank PM Narendra Modi for expediting the long-pending project. This will be a next-generation infrastructure facility surya ,said.
  • South Western Railway sources confirmed that CCEA has cleared the project but can’t speak on record due to the poll code. The project will be executed by Rail Infrastructure
  • Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE), an SPV of the Union ministry of railways and Karnataka government. “K-RIDE will soon float tenders for civil work.” they said
  • The 37-year-old proposal, announced in the 2018-19 Union Budget, was cleared by the railway board in November 2019. It was awaiting CCEA approval.
  • The project will comprise for corridors: KSR Bengaluru City-Devanahalli, Byappanahall-Chikkabanavara, Kengeri-Cantonment-Whitefield and Heelalige-Rajanukunte.
  • This will be the country’s first modern suburban train system. Commuter trains on the proposed network will be similar to that of the Metro.
  • There will be automated fare collection gates for smart card-based cashless travel. Fifty-three AC trains with automated sliding doors may be deployed in the first phase.
  • Railway sources said the minimuin fare could be Rs 13 for less than 3km. In Chennai and Mumbai, a train trip for the same distance now costs Rs 5. “For a 15 km trip, the fare will be rs 35 as apposed to RS 45 in the mertro,” an official said

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