Work on corridor 2 of Bengaluru suburban rail project to begin by March 31

Work on corridor-2 of Bengaluru’s suburban rail project will begin by March 31, according to Karnataka Housing and Infrastructure Development Minister V Somanna. He announced that work on the 25.01 km long Baiyyappanahalli-Chikkabanavara corridor will start by the end of the month in the Legislative Council while responding to a question. According to Deccan Herald, Congress MLC Prakash K Rathod had questioned why the project was being delayed as it had received approval 500 days ago.

“We have floated tenders for now and a technical bid is under process. By March 31 we will be issuing a work order for corridor-2,” the minister said. He said the project had been delayed due to issues with land acquisition. He added land acquisition, utility shifting and design have already been completed.

Bengaluru suburban railway project is proposed to be completed by 2026 at an estimated expenditure of Rs 15,267 crore. In this project, four corridors are envisaged to be constructed with a total length of 148 km.

The suburban rail was sanctioned by the Union government in October 2020 after being a long-standing demand, and the Union government had said that the project must be completed within six years of it being sanctioned. It had also said that the airport-city line should be built on a priority basis and within three years. However, in January 2021, the  Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Company (K-RIDE) — a joint venture between the state government and the Union government — prioritised work on the other lines instead, which includes the Baiyappanahalli-Yeshwantpur-Chikkabanavara line. The two other approved corridors Kengeri-Cantonment-Whitefield; and Heelalige-Byappanahalli-Rajanukunte.

Read: Bengaluru suburban rail project: Work on airport line delayed, activists dismayed

In January, an activist renewed the demand for the suburban rail project and asked for the airport corridor to be prioritised.