Some more from the report
The rail link has been proposed from MG Road near BRV Grounds to Devanahalli International Airport. This 30-km non-stop train is estimated to cost Rs 4,000 crore and will be implemented on BOT basis. It will run parallel to the existing Hyderabad track — this will avoid land acquisition hurdles. Once the corporation is floated, a DPR will be prepared and global tenders floated. There will clarity once the jurisdictions of the SPV are spelt out. Though there were several government agencies which could have been roped in to execute the project, the members at the meeting were unanimous about having a separate corporation. The corporation will have board members comprising civic stakeholders, railway authorities, BMRC MD and urban development secretary. It will be headed by a senior IAS officer. Expressway After dilly-dallying over the proposed expressway from outer ring road to Devanahalli airport for over two years, the government now wants the Union government to take up the project. The 21-km expressway was mooted for dedicated road connectivity but the project is still on paper. |
How long it will take to implement the project itself is not known right now. We ought to keep an eye for more details in the comming days.
ಈ Story ಅನ್ನು ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರಿಗೆ ಕಳಿಸಿ
ಪ್ರತಿಕ್ರಿಯೆಗಳು
BARL
BARL
Integration problems II
NHAI seeks change in alignment for the second time
BBMP seeks change in alignment between Minsk Square and Hebbal flyover
DMRC forced to revise project report
The commencement of work on the proposed high-speed rail link between Bangalore city and the new international airport at Devanahalli will be delayed as the NHAI has forced a change in alignment for the second time.
The NHAI, on Tuesday, asked the DMRC, which will be implementing the project, to shift the alignment to the right side of NH 7.
The NHAI had first asked the DMRC to keep the alignment on the median of NH 7. But a few weeks ago, it said that the alignment should be kept to the left of the highway, as it proposed to construct an elevated highway between the Hebbal flyover and Yelahanka.
After the DMRC prepared a detailed project report keeping the alignment to the left side of the highway, the NHAI has come out with a plan to construct an elevated highway between the Hebbal flyover and Yelahanka-Kogilu Junction. The NHAI placed its suggestion during a meeting of the taskforce on airport infrastructure held in Bangalore on Tuesday.
Even the BBMP has suggested a change in the alignment between Minsk Square and the Hebbal flyover. It is studying a proposal by Delhi-based IDEB Inc. and Shanghai Urban Construction Group to construct an elevated road corridor between the two points above the existing stretch of the road. The BBMP wants the DMRC to change the alignment to suit the elevated road project. In its project report, the DMRC had aligned the rail link to the left of the existing road. The BBMP wants the alignment on the median so that elevated roads can be build on both sides.
The Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), which has agreed to build a rail link and related infrastructure within its premises, informed the meeting that it has been working on its expansion plan and will come out with a feasibility study report by April-end.
The DMRC has now been forced to rework on its design and come out with a revised project report. All these developments are likely to delay work on the rail link.
Commerce, Industries and Infrastructure Secretary V.P. Baligar told The Hindu that the DMRC would have to discuss the matter with the NHAI and the BBMP before finalising the alignment as all the projects are interlinked.
Mr. Baligar said that experts from the Zurich Airport, which is a stakeholder in the BIAL, had informed the meeting that they were finalising an expansion plan to build second and third terminals and a second runway at the Devanahalli airport. The BIAL would have to conduct a feasibility study on whether to have underground, on ground or above ground rail link within the airport premises depending upon the expansion plan, he said.
didn't this ideb+shangai group initially propose the under ground road? where is the space for air link on the median and elevated roads on both sides of the road on the road between minsk square and hebbal? and what happens to our beloved magic boxes if the metro is going to be on the median?
nhai is comming with alignments and proposals right left and center and by the minute. is it really so easy to come up with proposals?
Integration Problems I
In a move that could end the Bengaluru International Airport's connectivity woes, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), consultant for the proposed high speed train to Devanahalli aerodrome, on Tuesday proposed integrating Namma Metro and the rail link.
A high-level meeting of officials of DMRC, BIA and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) came up with the integration idea for better and faster connectivity to the airport.
Sources in DMRC told Deccan Herald that the meeting grappled with the issue of access between the Namma Metro station at Minsk Square and the high speed train terminal at the BRV grounds.
Pathway
“A pathway from the Metro station to the train terminal is being planned. An underground travelator (a moving trolley link) or an elevated pathway could be the answer for seamless integration. A final decision on the project and its cost will be taken soon,” said officials.
BMRC Managing Director V Madhu said an underground pathway straddling the 550-metre distance between the Metro station and the train terminal would be the ideal option.
“On-surface integration is problematic. Travelators and mono-rails are in use in other countries to link metros to airports,” Madhu said.
V P Baligar, principal secretary (Infrastructure,Commerce and Industry), said the meeting also discussed the high speed train’s station at the airport end. “BIAL has sought time till April-end, saying that it is in the process of drawing up its expansion plans,” he said.
He also disclosed that the government is on the verge of finalising the board of directors for the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to implement the train to Devanahalli.
DMRC Managing Director E Sreedharan, BIAL CEO Albert Brunner, Baligar, Madhu and other senior officials participated in the meeting.
Not to repeat myself, here is a very simple idea to solve the problem of integration.
Why have two different systems to begin with? Why not lay metro tracks all the way to the airport and have trains with varying number of stops.
MG road to bial, airport shuttle 3 stops. MG road to devanahalli, metro 12 stops.
RV terminal to bial, airport shuttle 5 stops. RV terminal to devanahalli, airport shuttle 15 stops.
(numbers are random, just trying to say fewer stops for the airport shuttle than regular service.)
SEZ at Devanahalli
Delayed and Expensive Connectivity
BOT for airport train
The proposed high speed train to the Bengaluru International Airport will be implemented under the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model with private participation, unlike the Bangalore Metro which is being jointly implemented by the State government and the Centre through a special purpose vehicle, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC).
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which is the consultant for the project, has decided on the BOT model to avoid any delay in implementation.
‘Compress time’
A decision in this regard was taken recently following Governor Rameshwar Thakur’s direction to DMRC to “compress the implementation time” as much as possible, official sources said.
As a result, the SPV (which is yet to be set up by the State government) for the high speed train need not look for raising of funds for the project and that it will only concentrate on project monitoring and management.
The BOT operator (also called project promoter) will be selected through global tender. The plan is to start the actual work in November 2008 and complete it in 2011.
However, the BMRC has been entrusted with the responsibility of not only implementing and managing the Metro project, but also raise on its own funds to the tune of nearly Rs 1,000 crore for the over Rs 6,000-crore project.
As per the BOT model worked out by DMRC for the high speed train, the BOT operator will have to bear almost the entire cost, which is estimated at Rs 3,796 crore, except for equity participation of the State and Central governments (Rs 135 crore each) and the Bengaluru International Airport Limited (Rs 30 crore).
Cost sharing
The State government will also bear the land acquisition cost (Rs 155 crore) and Bengaluru International Airport Limited will bear the civil engineering cost for the train at the airport premises (Rs 148 crore).
BIAL has been made an equity partner as the train is proposed to pass through the airport.
“In fact, the airport station for the train is planned next to the check-in terminal inside the airport. BIAL has agreed in principle to have its equity in the project,” the sources said.
They also said BIAL has laid down a condition that all civil engineering works for the train inside the airport should be done after consulting it, so that the design synchronises with that of the airport’s. So, BIAL agreed to bear the entire civil engineering cost, the sources added.
alt+shift left
Design will solve this problem
If they can design it well the high speed train can be aligned sandwiched in between the elevated expressway even if it is only for a few kilometers. There are many cities which have done that. I am attaching a pic from google maps where you can see how Metro Rail passes in the center of a freeway.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21318792@N07/2326525953/
If designed that way they will not need any private land for the rail link.
No cost benefit seems to have been done
Tarle,
Bang on. What is this fascination with a 23 minute ride and a 160kmph train. There is a saying in Kannada about stretching your legs only as much as the bed.
This should be a general purpose train track with airport specials thrown in between.
Silkboard,
Amazing that corporate "leaders" who talk a lot about embracing change, seem to be up in arms against this change.
BTW - has anyone been along NH7 recently? Have they put lights till the airport. I would hate to be in a speeding taxi with a sleepy driver and no high-lumen lamps. Anandnagar underpass is supposedly going to be quicker than last time. Let's see.
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
north by north-fast
We need the train but..
Was reading about express trains to airports around the world and came across interesting information on BBC about the Gatwick Express..
..The Department for Transport said "fast and frequent" services would remain but would serve additional stations.
Figures show that during peak morning hours the service is, on average, just over half full. Axing it would provide an extra 480 seats for commuters...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/england/southern_counties/4676388.stm
Cant we learn from them?
What sort of coordination is this?
Agree. The BIAL expressway starts (if/when) from a not very easy to reach point. Why spend so much money on a potential white elephant? We have enough of those to fill a circus with.
The scary thing is that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. When did this elevated expressway from Hebbal to Yelahanka get conceived? I am sure that the DMRC would have shared the plans for the high speed train with the NHAI. Why was NHAI quiet at that point?
Can you imagine how Brunner must feel about India? He must wonder how we get anything done at all. Have our bureaucrats and politicians have no shame at all? No sense of duty? No sense of pride in getting a job well done? BIAL should take the government to court at the end of all this.
I think the delay is an opportunity to finish the underpasses and the trumpet interchange before the airport starts. We have waited seemingly for ever for this new airport - so another month will not mean a great amount of damage except to our reputation(???).
Srivathsa
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
thank god ...
... the BIAL expressway project hasnt taken off. Bellary Road, now itself, with 6 lanes and space on both sides looks, looks upgradable to an expressway. Add the train, Outer Ring Road upgrade, and the BIAL expressway looks so redundant.
The main problem is in getting to the Outer Ring Road, and not from ORR to BIAL.
NHAI's Elevated Road to the BIA? Whats the use of express way?
TOI today:
Bangalore: The Karnataka government’s efforts to put on track a high-speed train from the city to the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) has suffered another hiccup. The project, planned on NH 7, has been sent to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for a relook at the alignment, which is found to be clashing with the elevated corridor planned on the same path by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
A 4-km, 6-lane elevated road — ahead of the clover-leaf flyover — will be taken up by NHAI from Hebbal to Yelahanka. The railway line, planned at the centre of the road to avoid land acquisition problems, would overlap the elevated road.
“The distance between the rail and the road should be at least 3.5 metres. NHAI had suggested the alignment be taken to the extreme left of the road, off the service road. But this will mean private land will have to be acquired. We have sent the project to the DMRC for a relook at the alignment,” said infrastructure secretary V P Baligar. “Once the DMRC freezes the alignment, we can start work on the corridor,” NHAI officials said.
The road-over-road is a part of the Devanahalli corridor improvement project which includes widening of the highway and three mini flyovers.
The busy Bellary Road now registers 20,000 passenger car units (PCU) daily. Studies conducted by BIAL say nearly 11.5 million passengers will take the aerial route annually — which breaks down to 40,000 PCUs per day on the highway.
CRS to BIAL
Our Babus should work with Lalu to get DMU until express rail l
TOI ups the cause
Todays Blr TOI(2nd page)
"... The mega projects conceived to provide connectivity to the new airport will require not less than two to three years to become operational. Planners have, therefore, suggested making use of the existing railway corridor.
“The proposed train between Chikballapur and Bangalore city will be taken up as a priority. Two trains run between the city and Chikkaballapur and these trains can be utilized if there is a demand,’’ divisional manager of Southwestern Railway, Mahesh Mangal, told TOI.
At present, a train is operational between Bangalore city and Chikballapur with a halt at Dodda Jala, situated about 4.5 km from the international airport. The railways will start an additional train between Chikballapur and Yelahanka. However, the official clarified that the existing infrastructure cannot support separate train services between the airport and the city. “Any kind of connectivity requires a frequency which is not possible with the present infrastructure. The idea can be implemented only if the infrastructure is upgraded,’’ Mangal said.
But traffic planners see it the other way. “The track between the city and Chikballapur does not handle much of the trains. At fixed intervals, there can be trains from Devanahalli to Bangalore. It requires minimal infrastructure. Moreover, about two km of railway line abuts the compound wall of Devanahalli airport,’’ explained chairman of Traffic Engineering and Safety Trainer
Lets hope this trail is taken further and the Janata trains might give the dedicated express trains the jitters. Or will the promoters of the new rail link stop the Janata trains from running itself? As it has happened with the agreement drawn with the authorities not to run HAL after BIAL opens!
Also on the main page toi today there was talk of Sitaram Yechury suggesting keeping the current airports in HYD and BLR open along with the new airports..he adds that they(politburo/parlimentary comitte) suggested lot of things earlier but nothing worked!
Vested interests!
BARL formed
TNN, March 06, 2008
The state has created a special purpose vehicle (SPV) — Bangalore Airport Rail Link Ltd (BARL) — for the speedy execution of this project.
Though governor Rameshwar Thakur’s executive council gave its nod to the Rs 3,716-crore high-speed rail link, an SPV had to be created to give it legal status. This title has been placed before the Registrar of Companies (RoC) for its approval.
After studying the feasibility of the high-speed rail link to the new airport, a detailed project report was prepared and presented by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation MD E Sreedharan to the state government, which accepted it. Even though work is slated to commence in December, sources say it may begin earlier. Once the train becomes operational, passengers can reach the airport in less than 25 minutes.
The project’s blueprint specifies that a city air terminal (CAT) will be built at BRV Grounds. The track will run 34 km to the international airport, with two stops — one at Hebbal and the other at Yelahanka. Check-in and baggage facilities would be provided at CAT and the Hebbal stop, while only baggage facilities will be provided at the Yelahanka stop.
The SPV will enable the government to acquire 26.65 hectares of private land for the execution of the project. While nearly 40 hectares is needed, the government has 13.2 hectares for the project.
The cost break-up includes Rs 2,677 crore only for the rail facilities, Rs 155 crore for land acquisition and Rs 300 crore for various taxes.
HIGHLIGHTS
SPV will be called Bangalore Airport Rail Link Ltd
Project cost is estimated at over Rs 3,000 crore.
Higher than the new international airport project cost.
High-speed train expected to reach the destination in less than 25 minutes.
The train will stop at Hebbal and Yelahanka.
Only eco-friendly trains will operate in this link
Just what type of train is this? At the risk of sounding like a parrot, why cant this be the same type of network as the metro?
radio?
airport CRS
Otherwise Plan for Another Metro Arm
actions?
Lot of Words - little sense !
Hi Speed Progress
“The State government is keen on utilising the expertise of DMRC for speedy implementation. The aim is to start the civil works by 2008-end and complete it by 2011,” the sources said.
In fact, the DMRC is the only government agency in the country having expertise in designing and implementing high speed rail projects.
By doing this, the government has saved a few months of time that would have gone in tendering for and appointing consultants to the project.
Once the tender document is ready, the process of inviting tenders will be taken up. On the other end, the Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation which has been appointed the nodal agency to implement the project, will simultaneously call for expression of interest from investors, besides setting up a special purpose vehicle on the lines of the Bangalore Metro Railway Corporation (BMRC).
All these steps are likely to be completed in the next few days, the official sources said.
“The government move will save a lot of time, as inviting tenders for appointing a consultant would itself have taken months,” they added.
HIGH-SPEED LINK
* Actual work to begin by 2008-end
* 34-km rail from BRV ground to airport
* Train frequency is 10 minutes initially
* Maximum speed of 160 kmph
* Each train to have 6 coaches
* Scheduled to be operational from 2011
Airport rail link notified
Airport rail link notified
The State Government has notified the high speed rail link to international airport at Devanahalli and has authorised the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC), the consultant of the project, to finalise detailed project report (DPR).
A special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be set up to implement the project on public-private partnership and the project is to be developed on Build-Own-Transfer (BOT) basis by inviting Expression of Interest (EoI) and Request for Proposal (RFP) from private developers.
After deliberations, the Government Order issued on Wednesday, stated that it had been decided to locate the City Airport terminal at the Police Parade Ground between Mahatma Gandhi Road and Cubbon Road as recommended by the DMRC.
The notification states that the Jakkarayanakere land would be converted into a Police Parade Ground. It allows Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. to use part of Jakkarayanakere for casting of pre-cast concrete structures till an alternative site is provided to BMRCL.
The notification has advised the DMRC to appoint a suitable consultant to study the impact of City Airport Terminal on the traffic around Mahatma Gandhi Road and submit a report within four weeks.
Save Bangalore!
How do the economics work out?
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
BOT?
Economics contd.
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
ticket cost
Misplaced priorities
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
airport rail
blrsri
Sreedharan's DMRCL..
Rs 3,716 crore for experiments?
Airport Rail
* It will be about 25 minutes to the airport with stops at Hebbal & Yelahanka.
* DMRC thinks BRV grounds station will not increase traffic at MG Road. Apparently they considered LRD park and then dropped it.
* DMRC has also suggested walkways and other road improvements.
Will 'Speed' Station Slow Down Traffic?
P M Raghunandan
Will the city station for the high-speed elevated train for the new international airport, proposed at the Police Parade Grounds, choke traffic on the surrounding major roads?
No, according to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The DMRC, which has prepared a detailed project report, has told the government traffic on MG Road, Cubbon Road and Residency Road will ease considerably once the new airport becomes operational in March 2008.
“There is no need for re-thinking on the location of the city station at the Police Parade Grounds. It is an ideal location and there won’t be any increase in traffic on surrounding roads,” a top official in DMRC told Deccan Herald.
How will the traffic ease? “Nearly 20 per cent of present traffic flow on these roads is towards HAL airport. With the new airport at Devanahalli becoming functional, this traffic will get diverted to Bellary Road. Once the Bangalore Metro Rail is commissioned, the traffic flow on roads surrounding Parade Grounds will come down further,” the official said quoting a DMRC’s traffic survey.
Though DMRC had proposed the Parade Grounds for setting up the station, the State Executive Committee, comprising the Governor and his three advisors, had raised doubts over its feasibility. It was feared locating the station there would increase traffic on surrounding roads. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation too had expressed similar apprehensions and recommended Byappanahalli.
Lung Space
The Executive Committee, therefore, had summoned DMRC Chief Sreedharan to explain the pros and cons of the proposal. “In fact, the Executive Committee had come up with a new location, at LRD Park, but the government was advised against it, as the Park is one of the prominent lung spaces of the City,” the DMRC official said.
The train project is estimated to cost around Rs 4,000 crore, and people can travel to the new the airport within 25 minutes. Besides one of the stations located in the centre of the city, there will be two other stations -- at Hebbal and Yelahanka -- before reaching the airport.
Walkways
The DMRC has also suggested some short-term and long-term measures to ensure smooth traffic in this area, like - converting walk path between Chinnaswamy Stadium and the Parade Grounds into a six-lane road, constructing road over bridge and road under bridge at key traffic junctions, introducing one-ways, etc.
Rail Connectivity to Airport
How many people will use this everyday?
airport volumes...
How many people will use this everyday? - Very good question
More Details
(Business Standard)
A high speed train will be able to ferry passengers from BRV Grounds next to MG Road at the city centre to the airport, a distance of 30 kilometers, in 15 minutes. A preliminary estimate has put the project cost at around Rs 4,000 crore.
The proposal involves three parts:
2. an entirely new five kilometer long railway line linking the Doddaballapur end of the existing line to the airport and,
3. building another new line of approximately 2.5 kilometers to link the BRV Grounds to Cantonment station along Cubbon Road, Ali Asker Road and Millers Road.
The plus point of this proposal is that “except for a stretch of defence land near M G Road, we do not have to acquire any land for the project. The new track between Cantonment station and the airport will be laid next to the existing track. The Indian Railways is already in possession of the land,” a senior state government official associated with the project, said.
Interestingly, this solution which involves vitually no land acquisition has been thought up only after President’s rule has been imposed. The Kumaraswamy government did not come up with the idea even as the expressway project remained a non-starter because of court cases initiated by those holding land around its proposed alignment.
Another government official said, “This is a startlingly simple solution which has been known to many. But politicians have no interest in projects that take advantage of existing railway fcilities and do not involve land acquisition or related property development. Look at the time it is taking to double the railway link between Bangalore and Mysore, even as court cases continue over the NICE road project.”
The government now plans to rope in the Indian Railways, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation, Bangalore Development Authority, Bangalore International Airport Ltd and Greater Bangalore City Corporation as stake holders of the project. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation will be appointed as consultants.
“We are yet to work out the equity structure. Once the SPV is launched, a detailed project report will be prepared. The DPR has to be approved by all the stake holders. It will also freeze the track alignment. As of now, we have not decided which parts of the track whould be elevated, underground or run on the surface. These issues can be finalised only after conducting the soil survey,” the official explained.
“Once the DPR is ready, the SPV will have to float global tenders. We have to negotiate with the bidders and the financial closure has to be achieved. These processes will take close to one year,” the official pointed out. If things got going right away it will take two for train services to begin.
“The high speed rail link is the only option before the government to provide hassle free journey to air passengers from the city centre to the new airport. We have to complete it at any cost,” state government officials said.
police
Also, last week they were thinking about the problem....
Starting bug hits train to Devanahalli (Deccan Herald)
DEC 08, 2007
Whether to have the starting point at BRV Grounds in the heart of the City, as has been proposed by the infrastructure development department, or somewhere else, is the Committee’s dilemma. Hence, when the proposal on high speed rail link came up before the Committee meeting on Friday, it was decided not to take any decision in a hurry.
“The proposal is for having the starting point at BRV Grounds. But the Committee wants the City traffic police to study the proposal and submit a report,” S Krishna Kumar, one of the Governor’s advisors, told reporters after the meeting.
Traffic load
According to official sources, the Committee is concerned about the traffic load on the areas surrounding BRV Grounds if the high-speed train too has its station here.
“The advisors, therefore, decided to collect more information on the merits and demerits of the proposal before clearing the project,” the sources added.
As per the original plan, the elevated high-speed rail link was proposed to have its starting point at Byappanahalli. But it was later changed to BRV Grounds. Estimated to cost around Rs 3,716 crore, the rail link will have stations also at Hebbal and Yelahanka.
DMRC Managing Director E Sreedharan will meet the Governor on December 15 to discuss the rail link and later it would be discussed by the Committee before taking a final decision, Krishna Kumar added.
Nevertheless, the Governor assured that work on a road with an adequate capacity to accommodate the traffic flow, would be completed before the new airport is opened (scheduled for March 28, 2008).
who owns BRV grounds?
Overloading the CBD
A schematic of SWR around Bangalore - courtesy sbckarthik
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
Hebbal & Yelahanka
why did they miss this?..
options
Cost-benefit and other options? reposted
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.