A travelator and a new entrance to the Cantonment railway station are among the “commitments” made by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) in response to the protests by activists and residents who feared that the proposed metro station would be far away from the railway station.
During a presentation on Thursday, Pradeep Singh Kharola, BMRCL managing director, said numerous technical, operational, financial and safety considerations had seen BMRCL choose to place the Cantonment metro station at Bamboo Bazaar instead of right at the railway station parking lot, as was originally seen in the detailed project report (DPR).
After the Shivajinagar metro station, the alignment in the DPR had showed the metro line doing a slight detour to the Cantonment railway station and then towards Pottery Town. However, in the work orders issued, the underground line bypasses the railway station, and instead places the metro station at Bamboo Bazaar, some 300 m away.
“It is when the detailed design study was done that we realised that the new alignment would be better. For one, it would have involved a tunnel of around 1.8 km — which has not been done even in Phase I — under the old alignment. By taking a shorter route, we save 800 m, and reduce two minutes in travel time and even save over ₹1,000 crore,” said Mr. Kharola.
Instead, he claimed the new station would be closer to the suburban terminal planned at the end of the railway station. “We can provide an underpass from the metro station to Cantonment railway station, including a travelator (a moving walkway), to ease commuting between the two stations,” he said.
However, the arguments do not find support with activists and residents, who point to the connectivity issues pending even with Yeshwantpur and KSR Bengaluru City railway stations. “The underpass is not in the work order, and there is no guarantee that it will come up. There is no approach road to the metro station and the roads there are very narrow,” said Sanjeev V. Dyamannavar from Praja RAAG, an advocacy group pushing for integrated commuting systems. He added, “Moreover, while the proposed metro station may be connected to the suburban railway, it’ll completely exclude the bus stand and also other forms of transport.”
For the residents, incessant construction for more than two years will end up destroying their neighbourhood, said Saif Sahil, a member of Bamboo Bazaar Residents Welfare Association. “Those living in the area are economically backward. The destruction to their livelihood is something the metro will not compensate,” he said.
Airport DPR submitted
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) submitted the detailed project report (DPR) for the 28-km airport link, to the State government on Thursday. Mahendra Jain, Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development Department), said the proposal would be placed before the Chief Minister before getting approval from the Cabinet. “The process should not take longer than a month,” he said, and added that unlike the other phases when costly consultants were hired, this time the feasibility report was done by BMRCL officials themselves.
The airport link will begin at Nagawara and traverse through Jakkur, Yelahanka and Kempegowda International Airport.
Tunnelling under railway tracks
When BMRCL was tunnelling around 20 m below the city railway station, the soil had caved in, leading to a track hanging dangerously while passenger movement had continued, said Pradeep Singh Kharola, BMRCL MD, on Thursday.
“Now after this, the Railway Board has made the required tunnelling to be done 30 m below the tracks at stations. This would mean that the original proposed Cantonment station would have to be 40 m below the ground, which is impractical ... Whereas, for just railway tracks (outside stations), we can tunnel 15 m,” he said.
However, Sanjeev V. Dyamannavar from Praja RAAG countered by saying there was no circular or order from the Railways about the change in depth for tunnelling.
