What will it take to accelerate the suburban rail project in Bengaluru?

Seasoned commuter rail activists and experts note that virtually nothing moved from October 2020 to December 2022. This, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a 40-month deadline to complete the project.

The grand, four-corridor, suburban rail network for Bengaluru, a potential game-changer to solve the city’s perennial mobility issues, is at the crossroads. Six months of on-ground work that followed 26 months of relative inactivity has injected fresh hope into the much-delayed project, even as questions linger about the new government’s ability to take it forward.

The intent is there, as articulated in the 2023-24 Karnataka budget allocating ₹1,000 crore for the project, in addition to the ₹660 crore already released. In effect, this amounts to over half of the State’s 20% share of ₹2,479 crore in the project cost. But the question is: Will this accelerate the pace of a project that has taken well over 34 years since it was first proposed?

Seasoned commuter rail activists and experts note that virtually nothing moved from October 2020 to December 2022. This, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a 40-month deadline to complete the project. However, preparatory work on tenders has picked up considerably over the last six months, and this could change the project dynamics.

“Work has already started. They have called tenders for coaches, stations and depots. Realistically, the first corridor – KSR Bengaluru to Devanahalli – should be ready for running trains by December 2025, if they maintain the pace of work. At least one line should be in operation by March-April 2026,” notes Sanjeev Dyamannavar, an urban rail analyst, who has been tracking the project for decades.

“Meeting the 40-month deadline is completely out of the question at this stage,” says Rajkumar Dugar, another active campaigner for the project. “We have already lost 13 months. Till today, less than 8% of one corridor is complete, which means less than 2% of the entire project. In the remaining 27 months, doing 98% of the work is absolutely impossible. So now, we have to look at a practical deadline of October 2026, which is as per the sanction letter,” he elaborates.

A lot will depend on what happens this year. “We have specifically requested them to close all the tenders within this calendar year, and work on all four corridors,” he says.

“Completion of the other corridors will depend on when they call for tenders and finalise them,” adds Sanjeev.