Union Cabinet reportedly approves 148 km long Bengaluru Suburban rail project

0
614
Bengaluru Suburban Rail
Advertisement

BANGALORE (Metro Rail News): After decades of politics, Bangalore has finally got Sub Urban Railways. The Union Cabinet has recently approved the dedicated suburban railway service for Bengaluru according to different reports.

The Cabinet cleared the long-pending 148km Bengaluru suburban rail project yesterday but no official announcement was made. A ToI report cited sources saying that the rail project was given clearance but no official announcement was made due to the election code of conduct in place for the November 3 Rajarajeshwarinagar by-election. In the press briefing after the Cabinet meeting, Railway minister Piyush Goyal said, “We can’t discuss or give any information (on the project) as the poll code of conduct is in force in Bengaluru.” 
The project was mentioned by late Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech for the financial year 2018-2019. The Union government had said that it will cover 20% of the total project cost and the state government will bear 20% of the project cost while the remaining 60% will be raised through external agencies. The cabinet nod comes nearly six months after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had assured that the union government will shortly sanction the funds while addressing reporters in Bengaluru. 
Sitharaman had said earlier that the fare of the upcoming suburban transport system would be in sync with the metro rail fare. The Bengaluru suburban rail project will cater to the rising demand of daily commuters putting pressure on the local transport system in the city.
The proposed Bengaluru Suburban Rail corridor will be 148.17 km long and the network will have 57 stations. The rail line will consist of four lines viz. Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna/Bengaluru City-Kempe Gowda International Airport, Baiyappanahalli-Yesvantpur, Kengeri-Whitefield, and Hellalige-Rajanakunte.
According to sources, Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Ltd, an SPV of the railway ministry and Karnataka government, will soon float tenders for civil work.

Daily Updates from Metro & Railway

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.