Friday was a good day for all Bengalureans rallying for an efficient, robust, suburban railway system to solve the city’s traffic gridlock. While the state government announced allocation of Rs 23 crore for the suburban train project, Karnataka Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar met suburban rail activists and accepted a memorandum on basic demands related to the suburban railway project.
The state government fund was given to the South Western Railways to increase Mainline Electric Multiple Units (MEMU) trains for suburban railway project. The chief secretary assured that talks with the Railways are on and the process to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will soon happen.
The chief secretary is holding meetings with the Railways, Department of Urban Land Transport, Urban Development Department and Bangalore Metro Railway Corporation Limited (BMRCL) officials every 10 days.
Tara Krishnaswamy, co-founder of Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB), which led the highly followed Modalu Train Beku campaign recently, said, “The first time when we met him before the yatra, he asked us to note and collate the low hanging fruit demands. He wanted a detailed discussion on specific detailed demands that we collected in the Rail Yatra so that he can be prepared for the next meeting with the railway officials.”
She added, “He acknowledged the success of the Rail Yatra and said that it will be addressed in the fastest possible way.”
The chief secretary has also given time in the third week of September to the activists, for a detailed meeting on specific action points.
Formation of an SPV like that of BMRCL, a separate company (co-owned by the state and centre) is necessary for the steady expansion of tracks and services.
CfB on Friday asked the chief secretary to meet five demands by the start of next year: