Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Sunday that work on the suburban rail project for Bengaluru, which is likely to bring relief from traffic snarls, will begin in May.
He was speaking at a function to flag off the Yeshwantpur-Hassan Superfast Intercity Express. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu was present.
The function, which was attended by supporters of the #ChukuBukuBeku campaign, saw several slogans being shouted in support of the suburban rail project. While most of them welcomed the announcement, a few chose to highlight the fact that the Union government’s contribution to the project was not announced in the budget. In February, the State Cabinet had given its assent to the detailed project report for 440 km of suburban rail and had sanctioned ₹345 crore for the first phase.
Meanwhile, a direct train between Bengaluru-Mangaluru will cut down travel time by 4 hours. “This overnight train will be started soon,” said Mr. Prabhu, while flagging off the intercity express. The intercity superfast express train between Hassan and Yeshwantpur was flagged off at the Yeshwantpur railway station, 21 years after former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda sanctioned the Bengaluru-Hassan project.
Other facilities
Mr. Prabhu also remotely inaugurated passenger amenities at several stations. Three lifts and an escalator were inaugurated at the Yeshwantpur station, a passenger subway and two lifts at Mysuru Road station, and a dedicated high speed Wi-Fi facility at the Yeshwantpur, KSR Bengaluru and Mysuru railway stations.
