Now people talk about the Airport Metro, but just looking at the pillars tells you that this thing must be nowhere near completion. However, a new faster, cheaper, and more spacious solution named Suburban Rail Airport Corridor is on course to reality. This will have a separate corridor with specialized coaches connecting the airport to far flung areas of Bangalore where it may take years before metro reaches.
The airport stretch of Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP) which consisted of four corridors did not receive any preference over other lines even though it is clearly superior to the Metro. The implementing agency, Karnataka Limited (K-Ride), has now proposed another route: from Doddajala to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).
If approved, this airport corridor will discard earlier alignment which aimed at entering KIA through Trumpet Interchange on Ballari Road. In place of an alignment designed to enter KIA via Trumpet Interchange on Ballari Road, tracks will be laid through Begur Road entry terminating at a multi-modal mobility hub between the two airport terminals.
This new 8-km link branching off the Majestic-Devanahalli corridor at Doddajala would be longer than the planned 5.6-km connection. However, having said that K-Ride also believes that employees working in Aerospace Park just outside the airport and residents living there would also benefit from this change in their strategy. Prior to entering the airport property; two extra stations are proposed.
Different alignments
So why does an air passenger need to use BSRP train if flashy Metro is available? “Metro and BSRP have different alignments altogether; only after Yelahanka do they touch paths since Metro turns right towards Hebbal/K.R.Puram and then takes Outer Ring road while going towards Silk Board area.” “On other hand BSRP goes via Yeswanthpur, Malleswaram and Majestic which are in the heart of the city,” says Rajkumar Dugar, one of the mobility analysts who has been following suburban rail project for years.
The main drawback with the Airport Metro is this: it will not be a dedicated airport line like Delhi Airport Express meaning that there would be multiple interchange transfers including dragging luggage. “On other hand BSRP train will have excellent integration with metro both at Yeswanthpur and Bengaluru City railway stations,” he points out.
No-frills intermodal transfers
To help commuters seamlessly switch modes between the two systems, BSRP stations are being located closer to Metro stations at Yeshwantpur and Majestic. The Subhashnagar BMTC bus terminal in Majestic is also nearer to BSRP Line. Previously it was inside City Railway Station just next to platforms but rather awkwardly apart from Metro and BMTC hubs.
For instance, Airport Metro users have an option of transferring onto Gottigere-Nagawara line via an interchange along ORR. However, as public transport activist Sanjeev Dyamannavar notes, this is a Herculean task. “The point where Gottigere line ‘dips’ under ground is a flyover over Nagawara crossroads; there will be a five-level difference with elevated Airport Metro line.” “There will also be a Nagawara flyover to deal with like here”, he adds.
But unlike metro, most interchanges on all 4 corridors of BSRP are at grade so there is no need for integration with existing railway stations. This would mean that once operationalized between Heelalige near Electronic City and Rajanakunte; airport travellers can simply alight at Yelahanka station in order to catch connecting trains on Corridor-4
At Yeshwanthpur, they could also switch from the Airport BSRP train and hop onto Corridor-2, which runs between Baiyappanahalli and Chikkabanavara, passing through Hebbal, Nagavara, Banaswadi and Kasturinagar.
Nevertheless, even changing of lines on the BSRP cannot be done without trouble to a commuter. According to Pravir who resides in Whitefield “A direct BMTC Volvo bus would be preferable to go to the airport, taking the Budigere Cross route. Once fully operationalised, the BSRP route would mean first boarding the train at Whitefield, switching to Corridor-3 at Baiyappanahalli, and again shifting to the Airport Corridor at Yelahanka.”
Comparison between Airport Metro and BSRP Suburban Rail Airport Corridor.
Metro’s limitation on capacity
Apart from the routes, Metro has a capacity constraint. Although Sanjeev says that in BSRP trains seats available would be much more than that of metro coaches where standing passengers are far more than sitting ones. Every suburban train compartment is expected to have a separate luggage section, with check-in facility for airport passengers on the Delhi Airport Express lines.
Here is a hypothetical situation for both the BSRP trains and Airport Metro when they become operational. An airport passenger takes the metro to Jayanagar. After going through several stations along Outer Ring Road he will reach Silk Board where he will have to change to another line.
“This will take over two hours, since the Metro will take 90-100 minutes to reach Silk Board from the airport terminal,” Rajkumar says. “The journey from Airport to Majestic by BSRP train will not exceed 65-70 minutes. This difference arises because of the greater average number of kilometers between stations of BSRP as opposed to those of Metro (1.5-2 km versus 2.5-3 km).”
BSRP extensions towards towns
If therefore, it was seen fit for BSRP then why not expand its services among satellite towns beyond? Why can’t Bidadi, Ramanagaram, Tumakuru or Hosur commuters bound for KIA use this faster means? The South Western Railways (SWR) were offered this deal by K-Ride so many times it became annoying. But even a green signal for pre-feasibility study has not been given.
In principle go-ahead has been given by K-Ride Board in July 2023 for such studies dealing with this project’s later stages. Under phase two, it was suggested that BSRP could be extended to towns like Gauribidanur, Chikkaballapura, Bangarpet, Magadi, Kolar, Hosur, Mysuru and Tumakuru owing to an increase in public demand. The aim of this was stated thus: Decongest Bengaluru City and facilitate key developments already underway in the satellite towns and future growth. An airport link could have been easily integrated into this larger network.
Whether this extension is approved or not all eyes are now on completion of BSRP phase 1 earlier. Prioritizing the airport corridor can change everything. But progress has been slow considering the entire project. In June 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set a 40-month deadline for the ₹15,767-crore project. Civil works have not progressed except for some stretches.
“Nobody talks about the 40-month deadline anymore” Rajkumar says. “Even very few parliamentarians from Bangalore had undertaken field visits to understand K-Ride’s problems”, he adds in response to their queries about it’s functioning (Rajagopal).
