Bengaluru’s ‘airport-like’ rail terminal with state-of-art facilities is operational

After much anticipation and a delay of one year, Sir M Visvesvaraya Railway Terminal in Bengaluru has now become functional, with the 7 pm Banaswadi Ernakulam Express on Monday, June 6. The train departed at 7.55 pm after a 55 minutes delay, as 50 passengers had initially landed at the wrong station — the Banaswadi Railway Station, from where the train usually runs. However, the officials arranged a BMTC bus and MEMU train to transport the passengers to the new terminal.

The railway terminal, named after Bharat Ratna recipient M Visvesvaraya and modelled after the Kempegowda International Airport, has state-of-the-art facilities, spacious parking, a centralised water harvesting system, and a clean water recycling unit. The terminal is equipped with first-class waiting rooms, a VIP lounge fortified with digital real-time passenger information, food courts by the IRCTC, lifts, ramps, stairways connected to the subway, and a foot overbridge. Besides the several posters with QR codes to easily avail sign language videos explaining the infrastructure of the station, it also has multiple free charging points available at every level. There are six ticket counters, one of which is dedicated to differently-abled individuals. The terminal also has specialised parking spaces for buses.

Despite the hype and promotions, however, the terminal had neither a grand inauguration nor an official flagging off. The commercial manager says that they will wait for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come and officially inaugurate the station. On D-Day, as the station bustled with police officers, the Divisional Railway Manager, accompanied by the Public Relations and Commercial executive, conducted a general inspection, pointing out any defects and changes to be made before welcoming its first train. This train will be running thrice a week.

As they witnessed the opening of India's first centralised AC rail terminal and the third major terminal in the city, there was an air of happiness and exhilaration among the passengers, crew, and officials. While some were opening up their shops, some others were visiting only to experience the ‘airport aura’ of the railway station on its first day, amid tight security. A couple, who finally arrived at the station after five of their Uber trips got cancelled, says they actually felt like they were entering an airport when they walked in. “It is definitely better than the other stations. Hopefully, this will do good to the Ministry of Railways,” says Ramesh Babu.

Santosh, the manager of the Amul Store at the station, was notified just a week prior to opening their shop inside the terminal. “As of now, everything looks fine. But only after the terminal starts to function in full swing will we be able to properly understand how things are going to work out," he says.

Suman Babu, who inaugurated his multipurpose stall on Platform 1 in the presence of his entire family, believes that in the coming months, the Ministry will launch more trains to the north, south, and other districts of Karnataka as well, even though the first train from the station makes its stop at Ernakulam. “The station is fully air-conditioned and has airport-like facilities. Moreover, it is right in the centre of the city. To its left is Seva Nagar, from where bus facility is available to Majestic, Shivaji Nagar, etc. On the right side lies Indiranagar, the suburb of Bangalore.”

In the midst of all the glitz and glory, however, lies the connectivity obstacle. For instance, auto-rickshaw drivers often refuse to take passengers from the Baiyappanahalli Metro Station, which lies at a distance of just over 3 km from the terminal. Passengers have complained that the drivers sometimes ask for unreasonable payment, which goes up to Rs 200. This struggle continues even while leaving the station, from where finding a ride can be a challenging task.

But Suman believes the reason behind this ordeal is the station’s current lack of popularity, to overcome which the Railway Department has begun the provision of free buses from Banaswadi, the station from which the trains have been shifted to the Sir M Visvesvaraya station. These buses will drop the passengers at the new terminal. Besides, to avoid further confusion, frequent announcements regarding the shift of the stations will be made both at the station and in the bus. “Within six months, this railway station will have the best connectivity,” Suman says.

Vineet, who owns the Shri Ganesh Hotel located outside the railway station, echoes the view that only when the number of trains increases and the terminal is fully functional will they get a better understanding of the station’s operations and the public response towards it. It will be difficult to manage the traffic here, he opines, unlike the “Majestic Railway Station which has big roads”. “Even though the station has a capacity of 50,000 footfalls, it will be impossible to manage the crowd right now. The station has now been opened just for the sake of it, as some works like that of the outside wall, parking, and AC are still pending,” he adds. 

An Army officer posted in Karnataka calls the station a "great one of the nation”. “The biggest problem is for the passengers to reach here, but the state government is making plans to fix this,” he says.