HOT TOPICS

SPOTLIGHT AGENCIES

Will the new Railway Minister make Namma Railu a reality?

225

kbsyed61 - 28 May, 2014 | Bangalore | railways | Bengaluru | GOK | public transport | Commuter rail | Suburban Rail | Public

It is to Karnataka State's good fortune that once again it has landed with the Railway Ministry post. The Bangalore North MP, Shri. D. V. Sadanand Gowda has been given the charge of Railway Ministry in the new government. On behalf of Praja, I would like to congratulate the new government and Shri. Sadanand Gowda. We wish them very best.

Though the laundry list for Railways in Karnataka is very long, the pending Suburban Rail project is one project that, we at Praja would be taking up very strongly with the Mr. Gowda. A lot of ground has been covered since the campaign for it was started in 2010 and more recently GOK gave its in-principle approval in 2013. The current status is that it is pending with Railway Board for their concurrence and approval for 50-50 partnership. We do hope that Mr. Gowda would lend all his support for this project and see that Namma Railu starts chugging ASAP.

It is very heartening to note that post Mr. Sadanand Gowda's appointment as Railway Minister, there has been very wide publicity in news papers with a wish list in which Namma Railu project is being given the highest prominence.

Courtesy - The Hindu

"...People expect Mr. Gowda, who represents Bangalore North and hails from Dakshina Kannada, to balance the interests and demands of all the regions in the State, including the demands to provide suburban railway system for Bangalore, creation of Mangalore division and merging it with Konkan Railway, and construction of additional branch lines to connect Karnataka with the rest of the country as presently only a few trunk lines — Bangalore–Guntakal, Bangalore–Hubli and Bangalore–Jolarpettai — are functional..."

Courtesy - The New Indian Express

"...As for Karnataka, Mandoth listed out the projects to be executed without any delay. They are, Suburban rail system for Bangalore, CCompletion of Bangalore-Hassan line, Double Bangalore-Mysore track..."

Though the ball is in Railways court, the equal responsibility lies on GOK's shoulders too.

Now the million dollar question is, would Mr. Gowda would rise to the occassion and make Namma Railu a reality? Or he will also succumbed to the state and central politics like his predecessor Mr. Kharge.

 

COMMENTS

Its time both Railway Minister and GOK sit together and sort out

Sanjeev - 5 July, 2014 - 17:42

It's obvious, & a must

Naveen - 28 May, 2014 - 05:38

Suburban rail is an absolute necessity for a city that is growing by leaps & bounds & yet, the railways & the govt machinery has been so mis-aligned with realities that they have lost focus & have been tottering until now when all have started screaming aloud for Suburban Rail, at last.

Political inactivity by Karnataka in demanding fair share from railways apart, Indian Railways itself needs to buck up. The low-cost low-quality services may have been acceptable in the past when majority of commuters were poor but now, fares will have to be increased step by step rather than assuming that govt dole will continue to flow to subsidize passenger fares & offseting some of the subsidy with high freight rates - they are losing out on freight also as movement on roads has been increasing.

I hope the new govt & railway minister set things right.

what is the priority?

srinidhi - 28 May, 2014 - 06:53

Yes agree that CRS is really important for Bangalore. But the minister has other major things due in Karnataka:

Tumkur - Davanagere line

Blr- Hassan line

Blr - Mysore doubling

Probably Sanjeev can add more to the list.

All of these are also important so where does CRS for Blr stand in the list now? Is there a chance to prioritize?

Other Important projects need attention,but CRS can kick start

Sanjeev - 28 May, 2014 - 08:57

Other railway Projects in Karnataka are equally important but they need time and  budget to mature.  On the CRS, as per RITES report and our own analysis,  34 /30 services can be introduced  with additional 4/6 rakes of MEMU & DEMU type. Some signalling improvements are must.

Already as earlier mentioned,  huge railway projects are taken up on cost sharing basis in & arround Bangalore like more then 200 Crore projects of ROB / RUB with BBMP, doubling & electrification of Bangalore - Mysore, Nelamangala - Sravanabelagola.

Apart from these,  Railways are doing on their own bit like MEMU shed, Expansion of Bangalore City station, Yelahanka, Baiyyappanahalli, Electrification of Track between Yelahanka - Guntakal, doubling of Yelahanka - Channasandra, Yelahanka - Yesvantpur, elimination  of level crossings between Yelahanka - Chikballapur.

Also Yelahanka - Guntakal doubling has to be take on priority by Indian Railwayas Trunk root.

Also its their in the all major political party menisfesto too.

Ground work for CRS is going thru since 2009 by DULT & IDD,  now it has reached final stages when Bangalore is facing challenges of Quality Urban Tranport and Tolled Highway for entry to Capital of Karnataka

All three MP's from Bangalore have put their strong support on this.

Also as such CRS will cover 7 Dist of Karnataka ( 8 MP's out of 28 MP's  ).  So question of priority  for CRS does not arrise,  it has to be done now when GOK has extended its cost sharing willingness.

@Srinidhi - you are bang on!

kbsyed61 - 28 May, 2014 - 13:55

Sri,

You are bang on when you said where does Namma Railu stands among other equally important railway projects. We have seen how the outgoing Railway Minister prioritized the projects that benefits his constituency. There is nothing in wrong in speeding up your projects.

I could see where you are going. DVS being from Mangalore/Puttur side, there is already high expectation from coastal side for improvement in projects and trains for the region. It will be a test for him to chose between his home turf Vs Bangalore North from where he won the elections. It doesn't have to be binary outcome, rather it could be win-win for both his Janam Bhoomi and Karam Bhoomi.

Actually, the Namma Railu project should be low hanging fruit for him. Most of the difficult work is already being done. What remains is,

  • Completing the approval formalities at his ministry
  • Hash out the stakeholding issues with state government
  • Approve the railway contribution for Phase-1A investment
  • Operationalize the SPV to implement the project

It will really be a shame if Namma Railu is pushed out due to regional and political considerations.

 

Bangalore North beeing Railway Minister area, things should be

Sanjeev - 30 May, 2014 - 06:26

As DVS was CM of Karnataka and beeing represented from Bangalore North,  also other two MPs from Bangalore havestrongly asking the Suburban Rail,   and now proposal pending at Railway Board.

All these should make Railway Minister work easy and push the project running so that low hanging fruits benefits are realsied in short time.

 

Will Cheif Sec / GOK forward the reminder on the Bangalore Subur

Sanjeev - 30 May, 2014 - 16:25

Chief Sec / GOK, take some time from your free time, approach Railway Board and Railway Minister on the need to approve the Bangalore Suburban Rail on priority and get the 4 MEMU Rakes and 4 DEMU Rakes for Bangalore at the same time. 

This way, Bangalore and Karnataka people will realize how same can be done in 2nd tier  cities in Karnataka.

Next week, looking for reminder letter from Chief / Sec on the above to Railway Board as per the information.

Complimenting Bangalore suburban rail project : Will Railway Min

Sanjeev - 30 May, 2014 - 16:44

Sir,

Already Many works are progressing at Bangalore Division of SWR which are complimenting Bangalore suburban rail project. 

Will Railway Minister Sadanand Gowda compleiment these below by approving the project and allocating 4 MEMU and 4 DEMU rakes and releasing required funds on priorty and Railway Manpower

1. MEMU Shed at Banaswadi
2, Doubling of Yesvantpur - Yelahanka
3. Doubling of Yelahanka - Channasandra
4. 20 ROB / RUB's works progressing with cost sharing with BBMP & SWR worth Rs 200 Crore.
5. Five Stabling Lines works progressing at Final stage at Yesvantpur Bangalore City railway station
6. Nelamangala - Solur line is completing
7. Expansion of Bangalore city expansion with 80 Crore investment
8. Yelahanka station expansion with 15 Crore
9. Electrification of Yelahanka - Guntakal line completion planned around Dec'2014.
10. Proposal pending with Railway Board for Namma Railu - Bangalore suburban rail

start a campaign

kamalesh_v - 31 May, 2014 - 18:54

We should start a campaign to create awareness for people and also communicate to new ministers.

  

Yes, Awareness is badly needed !

kbsyed61 - 16 June, 2014 - 02:33

Dear Amithpallavoor,

You are absolutely right on need for awareness. Appreciate your efforts on bringing awareness in RR Nagar locality. Namma Railu team @ Praja is always looking for help on such awareness campaigns. Hope you will lead that effort for Kengeri/Bidadi/Ramanagaram catchments. Please get in touch with Sanjeev if you have not done already.

-Syed

Namma Railu - Awareness Lacking

amithpallavoor - 15 June, 2014 - 09:32

The idea of Namma railu was explained by me to some residents in RR Nagar. The idea has been well appreciated. Let us take the lead forward in holding a few awareness meets in Kengeri and RR Nagar. Most of the people felt that an economical transport system like Namma Railu is the need of the hour for Bengaluru. BMTC is beyond the common man. So is Namma Metro.

The Railway Minister did win because of the work done by local BJP folks and faith shown by people of Kengeri and Yeshwanthpur. So he does owe us something.

 

I am in touch with Sanjeev

amithpallavoor - 16 June, 2014 - 09:44

I am in touch with Sanjeev and we will hold a meeting soon.

reinstate of YPR--MIRAJ special

kreshav - 6 July, 2014 - 11:09

Reinstate YPR--MIRAJ special which was running on SUN & MON on reverse direction.   Think of regularising it.

Our RM should also think of increasing the coach capacity to 24 nos to the following trains which will benefit mutually to commuters as well as Revenue earning to SWR.

SBC-Talguppa ( currently runs with 6 SL coaches )

YPR-Solapur     ( currently runs with 8 SL coaches )

YPR-Miraj   ( regularise & increase coach capacity from 5 to 12 SL cars )

YPR-Bidar   ( regularise & increase coach capacity from 5 to 12 SL cars )

YPR-Nanded

SBC-Shimoga intercity

SBC-Dharwar intercity

SBC-Shimoga fast passenger ( runs with 9 coaches since induction )

Days will come of reducing fares if the above is honored.

 

Ananth bats for peripheral ring roads, commuter train

Sanjeev - 26 December, 2014 - 19:51

Ananth bats for peripheral ring roads, commuter train

Bengaluru, Dec 26, 2014, DHNS:

Union minister H N Ananth Kumar on Friday endorsed the development of five peripheral ring roads and commuter rail in Bengaluru for better conveyance.

Speaking at the inauguration of Atal Behari Vajpayee indoor stadium in Yediyur in front of the Yediyur lake, he said he has consulted with the Union Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu in this regard, who too has given a positive response to this proposal. These peripheral ring roads would help decongest Bengaluru roads.

He said he has often advocated commuter rail with stoppages at every two to three kilometres and connect important locations such as Kengeri, Yeshwantapur, Bengaluru City Railway Station, Malleswaram and Yelahanka. He added that a private organisation RITES in its report has found the project feasible. The challenge, however, is Bengaluru has brownfield sites unlike Kolkata and Mumbai, which have greenfield sites.
R Ashok lamented the absence of proper playgrounds in the City for the overall growth of children.     http://www.deccanherald.com/content/449992/ananth-bats-peripheral-ring-roads.html

Mr. Annath Kumar, time to work now!

kbsyed61 - 26 December, 2014 - 20:52

Mr. Ananthkumar, it is time yourself and others stop talking or giving speeches on CRS. This is a time for doing something on ground to get this project going.

  1. In last 5 years, how many times have you picked up a phone and made calls to CM, Railway Minister to get it going?
  2. In last few months until Sadananda Gowda was teh railway Minsiter, did you called on him to push this project?
  3. In last 3 months since the change of Railway Minister, have taken any steps to get the project started off?  Have ever talked him on this issue? Have you taken a moment to have a meeting with Suresh Prabhu to get his approvals for the proposal that is pending for last 15 months?

Pls stop your speeches and plain talk. If you are really interested, just sit with Railway Minister and Chief Minister get the project started.

We are not seeing any effort from you or others in the present government to walk the talk. Please do something.

 

Talk talk and talk. Little

amithpallavoor - 29 December, 2014 - 10:22

Talk talk and talk. Little action.

His protege R Ashoka was the Transport Minister in the previous government. What did he do then to force his protege to get this project going? 

 

The Action is in Gujarat

kishorechan - 31 December, 2014 - 10:34

Action speaks louder than words! Its all talks in Karnataka, while its actions in Gujarat!  Below is an example:

 

RVNL and Gujarat Govt to sign MOU for Ahmedabad Regional Rail project

अहमदाबाद Ahmedabad (ADI): Gujarat Government and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Ahmedabad Regional Rail Project.

Ahmedabad Regional Rail System project is to connect periphery towns and villages with Ahmedabad through a dedicated rail network. It’s another ambitious project like Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar metro rail project which is lingering since last one decade.

More at: http://www.railnews.co.in/rvnl-and-gujarat-govt-to-sign-mou-for-ahmedabad-regional-rail-project/

Thanks Kishore for posting

Sanjeev - 4 January, 2015 - 18:40

We have MPs who are not ready to take Railway Minister not clearing the project and equally CM from karnataka who does not want to understand this.

No need of GoKs or CMs intervention

Rohanleonce - 9 January, 2015 - 16:32

Dears citizens, Let us think here Why we need gok intervention to start the commuter rail. As an example let us consider bangalore to ramanagaram line. There is an existing double track for the trains to start operating immediately. We have stations well equipped like bidadi kengeri jnana bharathi to handle stops. To start a pilot now why do we need GoK intervention. Why does railway board need help of gok to run train on their track! !!! Already CM has announced that for any railway they are fine with 50-50 cost sharing. BBMP is building ROB for existing level crossing. Now what happened to the announcement f trais in the budget by Sadananda Gowda? Did he just announce toy train?

Finally GOK and GOI clearing the project

Sanjeev - 1 February, 2018 - 20:11

GOK allocating funds for PH1A  and Finance Minister approving Suburban Rail.

With GOK allocating funds for the Suburban Rail & Finance Minister Approving the project from GOI , all hurdles removed for implementation. Next step is SPV setting up, start improving rail infrastructure, add services regularly as and when infrastructure is commissioned. GOK & Railway officials to complete SPV setup and start utilizing funds.

Thanks to Efforts of Chief Minister of Karnataka Piyush Goyal AnanthKumar P.C.Mohan, MP Rajeev Gowda and now citizens of Bangalore will enjoy good mass public transport system

Thanks to citizens support praja.in Whitefield Rising Citizens for Bengaluru Commuter Rail for Bengaluru Tumkuru Bangalore Railway Prayanikara Vedike CITIZENS FOR BETTER BANGALORE (UNITED) TG Sitharam @CiSTUP IISC @BNY
& media people supporting the cause really helped in clearing all Hurdles in the process

Already so many following works under progress, needs priority for completion to add more services :

1. Automatic Signalling Cant - Whitefield
2, Extending Shunting neck to Binny Mill Land
3. Completing 3rd Coaching Terminal at Baiyyappanhalli
4. Completion of doubling between Yelahanka - Dodballapur
5. Completion of ROB at Baiyyappanahalli station
6. Taking up Electrification of Tumkur and Hosur lines
7. Allocating MEMU Rakes and Utilization of the same to run more services
8. Commissioning of Upgraded station Tumkur, Yelahanka, Channasandra, Krishnadevaraya Halt
9. Up gradation of MEMU Shed at Banaswadi
10. Running additional services with new MEMU rakes by making small changes in train timings

 

Instead of fancy elevated

srinidhi - 2 February, 2018 - 02:45

Instead of fancy elevated section talk if IR can focus on the above points that Sanjeev mentions, Bengaluru will have a sensible and robust suburban rail system complementing metro in everyway!

I am seriously worried about

amithpallavoor - 25 March, 2018 - 17:06

I am seriously worried about the loss of greenery that the implementation of this project might bring about. Some of the verdance lost due to BMRC and Namma Railu:

 

1) RV Road

2) Vijayanagar Boulevard

Some places, which shall turn into concrete jungles in the future:

1) Kadugodi Plantation

2) Kanakapura Road- Forests

3) Bangalore University Campus

Other green massacres because of needless flyovers

1) Steel Flyover in front of Twon Hall

2) Steel Flyover on Seshadripuram Main Road 

 

PRAJA.IN COMMENT GUIDELINES

Posting Guidelines apply for comments as well. No foul language, hate mongering or personal attacks. If criticizing third person or an authority, you must be fact based, as constructive as possible, and use gentle words. Avoid going off-topic no matter how nice your comment is. Moderators reserve the right to either edit or simply delete comments that don't meet these guidelines. If you are nice enough to realize you violated the guidelines, please save Moderators some time by editing and fixing yourself. Thanks!