The much awaited construction of the Bengaluru suburban rail project will start in a couple of weeks. The Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited – KRIDE, the agency implementing the project, has issued a work order to Larsen & Toubro for civil works of corridor -2 (Mallige line) from Baiyappanahalli to Chikkabanavara.
The contractor will build 9.72 km elevated line and 18.55 km at grade line. The corridor has 14 stations, and construction will be taken up at a later stage. The design for the stations will be finalised in due course, officials said.
Sources at K-RIDE told The Hindu that an order for the construction work was issued on August 26. The tender cost of the corridor-2 is ₹859 crore.
“We are doing the on-board process. The contractor will mobilise their resources as early as possible to commence the civil construction work. The new railway line will come up parallel to the lines of South Western Railway (SWR), and the required clearance has been received for taking up the project,” said an official of K-RIDE.
K-RIDE has set a deadline of 24 months to complete the works.
Officials said 90% of the land required for corridor 2 is readily available. The rest of the land belongs to private people, for which acquisition notification has already been issued.
Close to 7 acres of private are required for the project. The KIADB is acquiring the land for K-RIDE.
On June 20, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the suburban rail project in the city. The PM had promised that the project will be reality in 40 months. Rail activists have been demanding that K-RIDE expedite the project which was envisaged decades ago.
Sources said that in the next phase, the tender will be issued for taking up corridor-4 (Kanaka line) that is from Heelalige to Rajankunte. The total length of this corridor is 46 km and has 19 stations.
“The tender documents are being prepared. In one or two months, the tender will be floated for corridor-4 and subsequently other corridors will be taken up,” said the official.
At a later stage, the KSR Bengaluru to Devanahalli line (corridor-1) that connects Kempegowda International Airport will be taken up. This line has been named as Sampige.
Rail activists have been demanding that K-RIDE implement the airport line on priority basis. The other line proposed for construction is corridor-3 from Kengeri to Whitefield. The name of this line is Parijatha. The total number of stations of all four corridors is 148 and 57 new ones will come up.
