SWR banks on Cantonment redevelopment to decongest KSR Station

Decongesting the KSR Railway Station will have to wait for three more years, till the construction of four additional platforms at the Cantonment Railway Station as a proposal to develop a 400-acre shunting and maintenance facility near Hejjala has been dropped.

The KSR station in Majestic handles about 130 trains everyday besides the shunting and maintenance operations. The platform congestion has been cited as a major reason for the delay.

"We have taken several steps to reduce platform congestion. As of now, about 30 trains have been shifted to Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal at Byappanahalli. At present, we are looking forward to the creation of four platforms at Cantonment to further reduce the stress on KSR station," a senior official said.

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The railways announced last month that the Cantonment station would be developed at a cost of Rs 525 crore, in a project which is expected to be completed in the next three years.

Hejjala project dropped

The South Western Railway had proposed to set up a 400-acre facility near Hejjala for shutning and maintenance operations. "This was seen as a major intervention that will meet the needs of the future, when the number of trains are likely to go up. Sooner or later, we need to have a full-fledged facility in view of the growing needs of the passengers," a source said.
To a question, South Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Aneesh Hegde said the proposal has been dropped due to lack of feasibility. "It was decided not to pursue it further after it was found that the project lacks maintenance andoperational feasibility. The four platforms coming up at Cantonment will help to decongest KSR station," he said.

Banaswadi to house Vande Bharat shed

The South Western Railway, expected to receive four Vande Bharat express trains, will develop a maintenance facility at Banaswadi to take care of the high speed trains.

"In the first phase, a pit lane will be built at a cost of Rs 50 crore. The facility will be upgraded at a cost of Rs 150 crore in the second phase. The single pit lane will be able to handle 20 to 22 Vande Bharat rakes (set of coaches) per week. This will be more than enough as a rake typically requires maintenance once in a week," he said.