Bengaluru airport suburban rail C-1 corridor misses PMs deadline; work yet to start

BENGALURU: The deadline announced by PM Narendra Modi to complete the Corridor-1 (C-1) suburban rail stretch connecting Majestic to Kempegowda International Airport has been missed by the state government and the Indian Railways. The PM had set a 40-month deadline on June 20, 2022, for completing the C-1 project. A sanction letter was issued from the Railway Board on October 21, 2020, for executing the work, setting a six-year deadline for all the four suburban rail corridors and a three-year deadline for the C-1 stretch. According to experts and Department of Urban Land Transport (DULT) officials, no work has happened on the ground on C-1. In total, on all the four corridors, only 40% of the work has been completed. Government agencies dont seem interested in implementing the work. There is lack of coordination, apart from land acquisition, said a DULT official. In 2020, the Railway Board had sanctioned Rs 15,767 crore for executing the work on four corridors spreading 148.17-km, which included 5% escalation per annum. Also, interestingly, the C-1 corridor, from Baptist Hospital in Hebbal to KIA, is on the same route as Namma Metro, the official added. According to the state government and BMRCL, the new deadline for completing the airport Metro line is by 2027-end. The DULT in its report to the UDD had suggested to execute the suburban rail project on priority in 2019, particularly on the C-1 and C-2 stretch, as it has the highest Peak Hour Peak Direction Traffic (PHPDT). The high-level committee of the Centre had also recommended procuring rolling stock and operation on PPP model for quick execution. IISc researchers had stressed on the quick execution of the suburban rail, particularly the airport corridor. Raj Duggar, from Citizen for Citizens, said the project has been delayed despite multiple reminders to the Chief Secretary, Rail Infrastructure Development Company (K-RIDE) and UDD. Only 10% work has been done on the C-4 corridor, which connects Heelalgi near Electronics City to Rajankunte in Doddaballapur, and 40% work on C-2 line, which connects Baiyapanahalli to Chikkabanavara, but nothing on C-1. K-RIDE MD Govinda Reddy said the project is delayed since around two years were spent in appointing a director and creating a full team, since K-RIDE is an SPV. A lot of time also went in arranging finances for executing the project. The KIADB is also taking time for tendering and land acquisition. Industries Minister MB Patil said there were technical issues with the tendering process, and so re-tendering is being done for the C-2 corridor. To complete the work as per the stipulated deadline of 2027, tenders are being called for small packages. Work on C-1 is yet to start and the same tendering method will be used for quick execution of the project, he added.