Coordination lacking, Blue Line will suffer: Experts

BENGALURU: There should be better coordination between Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limied (BMRCL) and South Western Railways for speedy execution of work on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) Namma Metro Phase-2A Blue Line, mobility experts opined. BMRCL sources said they have asked SWR to close the track or divert trains for four hours for four nights on the Salem line to take up the composite girder work. They have also asked SWR to reduce the speed of trains for 30 days. But there has been a delay in getting complete permission and clearance from SWR. The 17.5 km ORR Phase-2A Blue Line will connect Silk Board to KR Puram and is part of the project connecting Central Silk Board to Baiyappanahalli. Any delay in completing the 65-metre depot stretch will have a cascading effect on the entire line, the experts said. Though it is the last point of the Blue Line, quick execution of work is important as trains from KR Puram have to go to the Baiyappanahalli depot. ORR Blue Line work has been at a standstill over the last month-and-a-half at Benniganahalli. Spans have been erected on either side of railway tracks. Though railway crossing girders are ready, they have not been put up, said Clement Jayakumar, Member Secretary, Mahadevapura Task Force and mobility expert. He said the steel girder work across the Salem railway line has stopped, and this will delay the completion of the Blue Line. The Blue Line was to be ready by June 2025, but the deadline has now been extended to September 2026. The work on the rest of the tracks can be speeded up, but coordination and execution is needed, he added. Permission in phased manner SWR Divisional Railway Manager Ashutosh Singh said permission is being given in a phased manner on proposals submitted by BMRCL. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limied Director-Finance S Sivamathan said temporary permission has been given and work is going on. A senior consultant from IISc, working with the state government and seeking anonymity, said, BMRCL and Urban Development Department do not seem to have learnt from their past experiences. The snail-paced Metro construction towards the Kempegowda International Airport is an example. The government does not seem to be interested and the suburban rail project too is not moving ahead.