A train to run exclusively between Baiyappanahalli and Whitefield, to cater to the thousands of commuters from the busy IT hub during peak hours, was launched on Friday.
The Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) train will leave Baiyappanahalli at 8.25 a.m. and arrive at Whitefield at 8.50 a.m. - a timing that could help office-goers beat the morning traffic rush that clogs K.R. Puram and Outer Ring Road. The train will stop at K.R. Puram and Hoodi in a route that covers 15km in less than half an hour. In the return, the train will leave at 6.15 p.m. Eight coaches of the DEMU train can carry upto 2,412 passengers.
“This is an old demand of those in Bengaluru... Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) has been meeting with us on the joint ventures for a number of projects and we are working on it,” said Suresh Prabhu, Railway Minister, who flagged the train remotely.
Commuter routes taking shape
With this, the line now hosts more than 15 trains that can be used by local commuters, while the DEMU is the second such exclusive short-distance train. From K.S.R. Bengaluru, there are five trains between 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., while the evening rush between 4 p.m. and 7p.m., sees six trains departing Whitefield. “While this is a good move, we need two or three more such services to ease the traffic situation and get people to start using suburban rail,” said P.C. Mohan, area MP.
In all, the South Western Railways says there are 95 commuter services in and around Bengaluru, connecting various stations to Ramanagaram, Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru among others.
“We want the Railways Ministry to expedite the proposal for a 54-km line doubling and electrification of the Baiyappanahalli and Hosur as well as 27-km betwen Yesvanthpur and Channasandra which can be the suburban line to the airport,” said H.N. Ananth Kumar, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers.
He said the suburban system can take off the ground in a big way if the state government allots 40 acres from the now-vacant NGEF land in Baiyappanahalli for maintenance workshops and another 9.6 acres from the erstwhile Binny Mills land for an operations centre.
