Bengaluru's Visvesvaraya terminal to open on June 6, over a year after completion
The South Western Railway has decided to begin train services at the Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal in Bengaluru’s Byappanahalli, over 14 months after it was completed. Though it was initially slated to be inaugurated on March 15, 2021, it remained closed to the public for over a year as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unavailable for the inauguration, according to reports. The Times of India reported that the formal inauguration of the terminal by the Prime Minister will take place later, though the station has been thrown open to the public. The report added that the tri-weekly Banaswadi-Ernakulam express will be the first train to run from the terminal, starting on June 6.
Built at a cost of over Rs 300 crore, the terminal building covers an area of 4200 sq metres to cater for a daily footfall of 50,000 and aims to help decongest the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) Railway station in Majestic and Yeshwantpur station. A press release from earlier had stated that the terminal has seven platforms, apart from eight stabling lines and three pit lines to enable it to operate 50 trains daily.
The terminal, designed like that of the Bengaluru airport, was also touted as the first centrally air-conditioned one in India, and has a waiting hall, a VIP lounge with a digital real-time passenger information system and a food court. It will also have its own water recycling plant with a capacity of 4 lakh litres, officials had said earlier. The terminal was sanctioned in 2015-16 and also has a large parking space, which can accommodate 250 four-wheelers and 900 two-wheelers.
In April last year, heavy rainfall had led to leaks in the ceiling of the terminal, which in turn flooded the building. Pictures that were circulated on social media showed water pouring into the station from a gap in the ceiling and thigh-deep water in a subway connecting two platforms.