Bengaluru suburban rail: Vaishnaw flags 'serious issues of technical capabilities' in K-RIDE

Bengaluru: The railways is fully committed to the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP), Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday, but underscored that it's a "technically challenging" project.

The 149-km BSRP is under construction and will have four lines: Sampige, Mallige, Parijata and Kanaka. It is being constructed by Railway Infrastructure Development Company Karnataka (K-RIDE), a joint venture of the state government and the railways.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a 40-month deadline for the project in June 2022, Vaishnaw didn't commit to a specific timeline. He only stated that the project needed "utmost" focus and would not suffer "because of politics". He promised to review it from time to time.

"It's very important for a global city like Bengaluru... Whatever gaps are there, we will fill them," he said at a press conference on Monday after holding a review meeting on the project.

In response to a question from DH about the railways delaying approvals, Vaishnaw said that since the project was "technically challenging", there was no room for errors during the design stage.

"I have seen the DPR (Detailed Project Report). There can't be any shortcuts. If the DPR is being returned (by the railways), it's only because of technical reasons," he said.

To another question, he said there was a serious issue with the technical capabilities within K-RIDE.

Vaishnaw promised that foreign funding for the project would be tied up by the end of this year. K-RIDE has sought an €800 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the German investment bank KfW.

Asked about the appointment of a full-time managing director to K-RIDE, he said he would take up the matter with the state government.

The minister said the railways was carrying out projects worth Rs 47,346 crore in Karnataka, including doubling/constructing new lines. Karnataka received Rs 7,561 crore for railway projects in the 2023-24 budget. Fifty-seven of the 1,300 railway stations being redeveloped in India are located in Karnataka, he stated, saying the railways had taken station redevelopment beyond cosmetic changes.

'No reduction in non-AC coaches'

Vaishnaw dismissed reports that Indian Railways is progressively reducing the number of non-air-conditioned coaches on trains. According to him, the railways has maintained the long-standing ratio between AC and non-AC coaches.

"Out of 60,000 coaches, 40,000 coaches are non-AC. This ratio has been maintained for a long time. The number of passengers also remains steady at 7-8 crore per day. The number of passenger trains has surpassed the pre-Covid levels," he said.

He also denied glitches in the online ticketing, saying the backend capacity has been increased by 100 per cent.

Vande Bharat to Mangaluru

Vaishnaw highlighted "serious" problems with railway tracks between Bengaluru and Mangaluru and said those couldn't be addressed because of the "limited" technical capabilities of the contractor HMRDC.

The Hassan-Mangaluru Railway Development Corporation (HMRDC) is a joint venture of the railways and the state government. It is currently augmenting the track between Sakleshpur and Subramanya Road.

"An important city like Mangaluru needs better railway connectivity. The first question I asked the railway officials was when we could take the Vande Bharat to Mangaluru," he said.

Asked about the demand to bring Mangaluru under the South Western Railway (SWR), the minister said viewing the railways in terms of zones and divisions was "outdated" because all projects that needed funding were getting funding.

"Of the Rs 2.4 lakh crore sanctioned for the railways in 2023-24, 70% has already been spent. Whether the zone or division is there or not, doesn't matter," he said.