Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya on Monday said that he has requested additional trains between Majestic-Yeshwantpur and Whitefield-Hosur. He tweeted that the Divisional Railway Manager will take up a feasibility study on the same.
He also assured that he along with Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan, have advocated for a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the suburban rail project. The announcement by the MP comes after the yearly zonal meeting on the back of a social media campaign by Bengaluru residents demanding expansion of services.
We met GM of @SWRRLY today & pushed for approval for suburban rail, with Hon MP @PCMohanMP
— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) October 14, 2019
After securing state govt approval in Aug, papers are pending before NITI Aayog & Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
We will all work together to get this approved on priority pic.twitter.com/hUJTBGkxvO
I've requested for additional services between KSR/YPR to Whitefield/Hosur@drmsbc has assured me that they will take up a feasibility study & apprise all of us about them
— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) October 14, 2019
More trains will benefit about 5 lakh Bengalureans. Let's work towards getting them sanctioned asap pic.twitter.com/aisXQl9Fwk
Activists in Bengaluru have started a renewed campaign since Saturday demanding that the MPs of Bengaluru expedite suburban train services on the existing infrastructure. Over the years, while the Railways has undergone modernisation like automatic signalling and expansion of infrastructure, there have been no such significant improvement or expansion of the suburban rail system.
They want trains on seven routes, including the one to the Bengaluru Airport, to run every 15 mins during peak hours, every 30 mins during non-peak hours, and every hour between midnight and 4 am.
Activists primarily from Bengaluru Suburban Rail Users' group also want the railways to tweak timings of goods trains so that suburban rail can be prioritised. Other than these, to ensure there is easy access to the railway stations by providing last-mile connectivity, inter-modal connectivity, and multiple public access facilities such as parking, bus station, bikes have also been stressed.
The activists had also met some of the MPs in person over the matter. Meanwhile, the Model Code of Conduct was lifted as the Election Commission has deferred the bye-polls in 15 assembly constituencies.
Dear MPs,
— Bengaluru Suburban Rail Users (@BlrSuburbanRail) October 13, 2019
At tom's Blr divn meeting of @SWRRLY pls press our demands: https://t.co/KO3T8ftjnW@PCMohanMP @Tejasvi_Surya @MPKOLARSMUNISW1 @BNBBJP @DrSenthil_MDRD @gcc_mp @rajeev_mp @CMofKarnataka @drmsbc @GMSWR @SureshAngadi_ #BluruLocalNOW #BluruLocalEegale #BluruLocalKudale pic.twitter.com/qnjqJ7ood0
While the SPV was announced with much fanfare by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal in February ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, there has been no further announcement since the PMO had sought modifications.
The demand for a full-fledged suburban railway has been a long-pending one to solve the city’s growing congestion and pollution problems.