Representative image of Bengaluru metro.
Credit: DH Photo
Chennai: Chennai Metro Rail Corporation (CMRL) has launched the much-awaited feasibility study for building a metro rail link from Bommasandra in Bengaluru to Hosur in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, in a positive step towards realizing South India’s first inter-state metro connectivity.
The study was awarded to Balaji Railroad System (BARSYL) in November and the consultancy firm began its work in December, officials told DH. After years of deliberations, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) had in 2023 asked Tamil Nadu to conduct the feasibility study following Karnataka’s concurrence for the same.
“The feasibility study has been launched. The consultancy firm has begun its work, and we hope they will complete the study soon,” M A Siddique, Principal Secretary/Managing Director, CMRL, told DH.
The study, if all goes well, will be completed in six months after which Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments will sit together and discuss the findings of report submitted by the consultancy firm.
Officials from the CMRL also met with their counterparts with Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited last month to discuss the feasibility study.
CMRL had on August 1 floated a tender inviting consultants for preparing the feasibility report of the 20.5-km corridor connecting Hosur with Bommasandra to examine and recommend alignment, nature of the mass rapid transit system, ridership, and construction costs. As many as 11 companies submitted bids and BARSYL emerged the winner.
Out of the proposed stretch, which 11.7 KM is in Karnataka, while the remaining 8.8 km is in Tamil Nadu. The Rs-75 lakh feasibility study is fully funded by Tamil Nadu. The funding pattern for the Metro network is yet to be decided.
Tamil Nadu government believes metro connectivity between Hosur and Bengaluru will further fuel the growth of the industrial town, which is home to over 2,000 MSMEs.
Hosur, which is home to several big conglomerates like TVS, Ashok Leyland, and Titan, is also being projected as a major hub for electric vehicles (EVs) in the state. Home-grown EV companies like Ather, Ola Electric, Simple Energy, TVS Motors have already set up manufacturing units in the Hosur-Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri region.
The feasibility study comes at a time the Tamil Nadu government is mulling launching air connectivity from Hosur.