A coach terminal will come up at Byappanahalli, according to Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, who added that the terminal “will cater to the demand of passenger traffic in Bangalore area”.
At present, there are two coach terminals one each at Bangalore and Yeshwanthpur. Repair and maintenance work of coaches are done here.
The terminals also have facilities such as ‘sick lines’ (space for coaches awaiting repairs) and ‘stabling lines’ (space for parking coaches).
While the Bangalore coach terminal handles 130 trains originating in, terminating at, and passing through Bangalore, the Yeshwantpur coach terminal handles 88 trains originating in, terminating at, and passing through Yeshwanthpur.
Anil Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Bangalore, said both the coach terminals were “highly congested”.
The Byppanahalli coach terminal would possibly handle new trains and it was too early to say how many coaches it would handle.
‘Ideal’Prakash Mandoth, former member of the Zonal Railway Users’ Consultative Meetings of Southern Railway, said developing a coach terminal at Byappanahalli was “ideal” as it was centrally located.
As various railway grids intersect there, trains headed in any direction can start or terminate there. Byappanahalli also has a Metro station and an inter-State bus terminus so it can become a model of intermodal transport.
