KSR Railway Station, Bengaluru.
DH File Photo/ Janardhan B K
Bengaluru: Majestic, the sprawling transit hub in the heart of Bengaluru, offers the city’s first impression to many visitors.
At the core of Majestic is the KSR Bengaluru railway station, which opened in 1968. With an average daily footfall of nearly two lakh, it serves as the nerve centre of train operations in the city and is the busiest station in Karnataka.
However, KSR Bengaluru has struggled to keep up with growing demands. Severe capacity constraints, inadequate passenger amenities and poor connectivity with metro and bus stations have made visiting the station a not-so-pleasant experience.
Despite the station area spanning a vast 106 acres, the railways has struggled to free up space, expand capacity and operate more trains. This, however, is set to change.
The railways is preparing a mega plan to redevelop and expand KSR Bengaluru as part of a broader initiative to transform some of India’s biggest stations.
The main train station in Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar, has already been redeveloped. Stations in New Delhi, Chennai Central, Secunderabad and Ahmedabad are being redeveloped along similar lines.
In Bengaluru, the railways is currently redeveloping Yeshwantpur Junction and Bengaluru Cantonment stations with budgets of Rs 367 crore and Rs 484 crore, respectively.
According to the railways, the redeveloped Yeshwantpur Junction will open in July 2025 and the Bengaluru Cantonment by October 2025.
According to Yogesh Mohan, the divisional railway manager for Bengaluru, the redevelopment of KSR Bengaluru will be on an even larger scale with two interconnected projects.
The grand plan
The main redevelopment project is estimated to cost at least Rs 1,000 crore, and groundwork is likely to begin in 2025. It will feature a new station building, a modern airport-like air concourse, enhanced passenger amenities, and commercial development.
A private consultant hired by the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), a statutory body under the Ministry of Railways, is currently preparing the master plan. The final design is expected to be approved by the Railway Board within the next six months.
According to an RLDA official, the project will be implemented under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The official said that the final shape of the project may change because deliberations are still ongoing.
Member of Parliament for Bangalore Central P C Mohan stated that the design for the station redevelopment would be finalised in the next four months and promised to fast-track the project.
The second project, estimated at Rs 228 crore, is expected to be approved in the next few weeks. According to Yogesh Mohan, it entails adding two platforms towards Yeshwantpur, along with a maintenance facility for Vande Bharat trains and shunting neck adjustments. The second project is geared towards making train operations easier.
“Both projects will change the entire look and feel of the KSR Bengaluru railway station,” he told DH.
Making way for the project
Given its size and scale, the redevelopment project will necessitate the relocation of railway establishments within the station premises.
A significant portion of the existing MG Colony area, which currently houses staff quarters, educational institutions and other facilities, will be demolished. In its place, multi-storied buildings and a large multi-level parking space will be constructed. The surplus land will be leased to private players for commercial development, Mohan stated.
He added that the second and third entries would be greatly enhanced, too.
Another standout feature of the redevelopment project will be a fourth entry, which will be built towards platform number 10 and linked directly to the air concourse through a foot overbridge.
“At the end of platform 10, there is MG Colony, which has road access. We are aware that many passengers access the station from that side and they have to walk a lot. We will construct the fourth entry in collaboration with the RLDA,” Mohan said.
The fourth entry will have a small building with a ticket counter and other necessary facilities, he added.
A long skywalk has also been proposed across Gubbi Thotadappa Road, the busy street outside the main entry of the station. This skywalk will facilitate seamless transfers between the railway, metro, suburban and bus stations.
Presently, passengers pass through a stinky subway to switch between metro, bus and railway stations. The subway is closed by 11 pm, so is the skywalk built by the BBMP across Gubbi Thotadappa Road.
As a result, passengers have to walk all the way up Shanthala Junction to switch between different modes of transport.
The skywalk proposed under the station redevelopment plan will begin outside the Majestic metro station and go all the way to KSR Bengaluru. In between, the senior railway official said, it will connect the upcoming elevated suburban train station and the BMTC/KSRTC bus stations through ramps.
P C Mohan, the parliamentarian, stressed that the key aspect of the redevelopment plan was seamlessly integrating the railway, suburban, metro, and bus stations.
Automatic signalling
In addition to redevelopment, the railways is implementing automatic signalling on all sides of KSR Bengaluru.
Automatic signalling boosts line capacity, helping run more trains at shorter intervals and increase their speed.
Automatic signalling has already been implemented on both lines of the KSR Bengaluru-Bengaluru Cantonment section. Similar work is underway between KSR Bengaluru and Yeshwantpur.
Another railway official said a similar project has been sanctioned for the area between KSR Bengaluru and Nayandahalli, towards Mysuru. The Bengaluru project unit is preparing detailed estimates for it.
‘Prioritise passenger convenience’
K N Krishna Prasad, a railway activist and a true blue Bengalurean who knows the Majestic area like the back of his hand, welcomed the planned changes to the station but urged the railways to prioritise passenger convenience over commercial development.
“The infrastructure leading to the platforms must be improved. An airport-like railway station must have airport-like facilities and signage. No one, not even a first-time visitor, should have to ask for directions to pickup/dropoff points or parking,” he said.
Prasad emphasised the need to limit commercial activities near the entry and exit points, saying passengers should not feel “overwhelmed” by shoppers and casual visitors.
He also suggested providing public toilets in common areas outside of retiring rooms for the convenience of all
passengers.