The start of 2018 has seen a slew of announcements for the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project, a project that was first proposed way back in 1983. The Government of Karnataka and Ministry of Railways, Government of India announced their official approval and slew of works to kickstart the actual suburban rail services in the city. Though it could be argued that the timing of the announcements which coincided the State Assembly elections was about political capital, it has put the project on an irreversible northward trajectory.

On January 31, 2018, Government of Karnataka came out with its announcement for setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with Rs 1745 crore investment. Government of Karnataka officials confirmed that this is the Phase-1 cost, for which both GoK and Indian Railways will share 40% on 50-50 share, rest 60% to be borrowed from financial institutions.

That announcement was followed with Rs 17,000 crore allotted in the GOI 2018-19 Union Budget.  The Indian Railways threw its hat in the ring and promised elevated sections in the proposed suburban rail network of 440 kms. The rationale for elevated tracks was that some of the sections were saturated cannot accommodate more railway lines for Suburban Rail system. The execution will be a technical marvel if it comes through.

These two announcements have managed to move the project from government files to the drawing board and actual execution. The political ping pong over the project has now moved to firm commitments. Things are moving along, though at a very slow pace.

Here is the timeline of the project progress post 2018-19 budget announcements.

2018-19 Budget allocation and inclusion in Railway’s Pink Book

First step towards a functional Special Purpose vehicle (SPV)

The Government of Karnataka took the first step with a letter to the Railway Board in April 2018, to discuss and agree on terms and conditions for setting up the Special Purpose Vehicle to execute the project.

In addition, the state is agreeing to increase the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) to 5 for railway lands in the city as requested by the Railways to participate in the project. This was one of the conditions from Railways to participate in 50-50 sharing for project funding. This agreement meant the two stakeholders could overcome the hurdle of the 80-20 formula that the Railways had introduced for Suburban Rail Projects in 2016 which requires State Governments to share 80% of the costs.  The increased FAR will allow the railways to build more floor area for commercial usage.

The ball is now in the Indian Railways’ court to respond to the GoK’s request, complete the formalities for the SPV and start this project on a war-footing. Any delay will only see a deterioration in the city’s traffic conditions. 

Works in progress

Works completed

New Suburban Services announced in 2018

A number of services were introduced starting in August 2017. Here is a list of all the new services that were announced since August 2017.

Note: This article was co-authored by Khader B Syed and Sanjeev V Dyamannavar.