KSR Bengaluru set for rejig but questions persist

Decongestion plan

The long-overdue plan to decongest KSR Bengaluru, the busiest train station in Karnataka, is finally taking off with the remodelling of its railway yard. The proposal to build a brand-new terminal at Hejjala is also back on the table though it will take years to materialise whenever it is approved.

Railway observers say the yard remodelling should be comprehensive to include maintaining uniform rail gradient on all platforms, reducing the curvature between KSR Bengaluru and Kengeri, and introducing automatic signalling in the city's entire railway network.

The work requires big money and strong political will because the station will have to be shut down for six months or more.

A railway yard is of critical importance in the functioning of a station. It is nothing but a series of railway tracks where coaches and engines are parked and maintained.

As part of the yard remodelling at KSR Bengaluru, the length of platforms is being increased and additional lines/crossings are being provided to facilitate the simultaneous reception and dispatch of trains, said Kusuma Hariprasad, Additional Divisional Railway Manager (Administration, Bengaluru. A study is also underway to reduce the track curvature towards Kengeri, she added.

Automatic signalling for trains, which was introduced for platforms 2-10, is now being extended to Platform 1, she said. The Rs 525-crore redevelopment of the Bengaluru Cantonment railway station, which will have four platforms, will also help, she explained.

The opening of SMVT Baiyappanahalli, India's first air-conditioned railway terminal, has helped reduce the burden on KSR Bengaluru. At least 30 pairs of trains — several of them linking Bengaluru with North and Northeast India — have been shifted to SMVT Baiyappanahalli. Another 10 trains will be shifted shortly, Hariprasad said. "These measures will improve operational feasibility," she told DH.

A source in the railways also spoke about the proposal to build another terminal in Hejjala on the city's western outskirts. The proposal was mooted several years ago but was dropped over feasibility concerns. It's being considered once again, the source said.

The railway board last week approved a Preliminary Engineering cum Traffic (PET) survey for the 33-km railway line between Heelalige and Hejjala. Bangalore South MP, L S Tejasvi Surya, claimed that the new line would "immensely benefit" in decongesting the KSR Bengaluru railway station.

'Will do little to reduce burden'

Railway officials and observers, however, are unanimous that the new line, which won't see the light of day for years, would do little to reduce the burden on KSR Bengaluru.

Rail enthusiast Sanjeev Dyamannavar said the actual problem at KSR Bengaluru was not an inadequate number of platforms but the rail gradient. "Ten platforms are more than sufficient. What we need is uniform rail gradient," he said.

According to him, tracks on platforms 1-4 are at a lower level while those on platforms 5-10 are located higher up. "Trains can't move from one track to another. To fix this, all the existing tracks have to be demolished, levelled and relaid. And they have to do it in all directions all the way to Malleswaram, Cantonment and RPC Layout," he said. "It will bring long-term benefits but officials are not interested because they are concerned only about immediate requirements and want to please the political bosses."

The problems of gradient and curvature nullify the advantages of speeding and affect the movement of trains, he said. Increasing track length and removing level crossings are also required, he said.

Krishna Prasad of Karnataka Railway Vedike, said at least two more platforms were required to cater to trains towards Yeshwantpur. "This can be done by removing the pit lines that are located between platforms 4 and 5," he added.