To ensure speedy implementation of road overbridge (RoB) and road underbridge (RuB) projects at railway level crossings, the State government has recently accorded sanction to 60 proposed RoBs and RuBs in the State, including 12 in Bangalore, in one go.
With this, the Infrastructure Development Department (IDD), the Public Works Department, the BBMP and the BDA, which are entrusted to implement these projects, do not have to keep approaching the government seeking its approval to each one of them. A practice that used to consume a lot of time resulting in delay in implementation. These arms of the government are now empowered to directly deal with the Railways to implement the projects in the current year.
A government order has been issued by the IDD to this effect recently. Any project worth more than Rs five crore has to be vetted by the State government.
Source: Govt goes on a bridging binge (DH)
Its good thing for city traffic and wil lhelp in playing more commuter rail over the period.
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Row over land acquisition, traffic diversion delay rail bridge
With issues related to land acquisition and traffic diversion remaining unaddressed, construction of the 10 rail under bridges (RUB) and rail over bridges (ROB) in the City is being delayed.
The project — envisaged to ease traffic bottlenecks — is estimated to cost Rs 153.06 crore, which will be shared by the South Western Railways (SWR), the State government and Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
While the SWR will contribute Rs 64.94 crore, the State and the BBMP will together share Rs 88.13 crore. So far Rs 26.83 crore has been remitted by the State while Rs 65.39 crore is due.
Proposed rail over bridge/under bridge will come up at ITC Gate, Sarjapur, Allalasandra, Jakkur, Baiyyappanahalli, Krishnarajapuram, Kengeri, Kodigehalli, RPC Layout and Bapuji Nagar.
At a recent meeting with the BBMP officials, the Chief Administrative Officer of the SWR, Adesh Sharma, said that delay in land acquisition and permission to take up work on Defence land have hampered the work at Baiyyappanahalli, Krishnarajapuram and Hoodi Gate. Besides, transfer of funds by the State government has affected the work at Allalasandra and Sarjapur.
According to the BBMP and the SWR officials, non-diversion of traffic at Allalasandra, Jakkur and Jalahalli has further hit the work.
It is learnt that the tender had floated for the work at Allalasandra six years ago and the work has also been allotted to a firm.
However, the traffic police have failed to ensure traffic diversion.
Bottlenecks
The SWR and the BBMP officials had two rounds of meeting with the traffic officials but in vain. Due to the delay, bottleneck persists at Allalasandra, which connects Bellary Road with Yelahanka.
The officers are now contemplating to hold a final round of meeting with the traffic police to seek their co-operation in ensuring speedy work. If the traffic is diverted, the work could be completed in nine months from the date of commencement, said a BBMP officer.
The SWR officials also pointed out that the BBMP has not yet countersigned the estimates for six projects at Allalasandra, Nagawara, Mathikere, Baiyyappanahalli, Hoodi Gate and KR Puram.
But, the traffic officials are in no mood to buy the BBMP’s argument. Officers requesting anonymity said the SWR and BBMP officials’ claims to finish the work in nine months are impossible, for, it may take at least one-and-a-half-year to two years.
“We need to make alternative, sustainable arrangement for traffic diversion which can last for at least two years. In this regard, we need to discuss with the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) too,” said an officer in the traffic police. He added that already traffic is diverted in that area for another grade separator.
The BBMP Commissioner, M Lakshminarayana, expressed apprehensions over the traffic police’s reservations saying construction of underpass near Allasandra would be ready in a month and will soon be operational. Once it is ready, the police can divert the traffic for the ROB at the Allalasandra railway gate.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/352884/row-over-land-acquisition-traffic.html
Same traffic police gives clearance to METRO projects or Flyover for BBMP. But when it comes to Railway projects Traffic police r too behaving like any other state agency in delaying.
Its lack of leadership either at MP level or MLA or BBMP Mayor, Bangalore has sufferring on these even though amount is going into drain.
Three Ministers : Ramalinga Reddy, Krishna Byregowda & Dinesh Goondo Rao in present govt and same case with earlier BJP govt. They never go & meet Railway officals or Railway Minister to sort out the issue between BBMP, Traffic Police, NHAI & SWR.
Till now all three Ministers from GOK of Bangalore did't meet the Railway Minister, what u can expect for Bangalore from Mallikarjuna Kharge to do for Capital of Karnataka???
RITES report 2012 has identified 140 odd Rail crossings
RITES report has identified 140 rail crossings accross Commuter Rail area and with volume of road traffic.
Look at the present situation :
1. With Railway Minister from Karnataka Mallikarjuna Kharge
2. State & Center govts both from same party,
3. Three State Ministers : Ramalinga Reddy, Krishna Byregowda & Dinesh Goondo Rao in present govt
4. Central Cabinet Ministers like Oscar Fernadis for Highway, K H Muniyyappa & Rehaman Khan from Bangalore.
5. Even in recent GOK budget, 200 Crores have been allocated for ROB / RUB's in Bangalore city.
What else do the city needs to get all rail crossing to be elimnated in time bound ???
So ITS WILL and LEADERSHIP need of the Hour for Bangalore.
Other wise city will go to garbage as case with Garbage disposal as we can not find even single large dustbins for public to put the segregated things in each main areas as can be seen in Mumbai & Pune, even in other cities of Karnataka.
Subways between Yelahanka - Chikballapur 7 Numbers
1. Yelahanka - Chickaballapur section. Proposed subway in lieu of Level Crossings (LC No 2, 4, 5 & 6)
Tender work Cost : Rs 3.84 Crore, 4 months period
2. Yelahanka - Chickaballapur section. Proposed subway in lieu of Level Crossings (LC No 11, 13, 20)
Tender work Cost : Rs 2.88 Crore 4 months period
http://www.swr.indianrailways.gov.in...&lang=0&id=0,3
So lot of investment in Railway infrastrucure btut their is no will either by GOK or SWR to start the Commuter Rail.
A rail overbridge hanging for 4 yrs : Kaggadasapura level-crossi
Crossing the Salem railway line at the City’s Kaggadasapura level-crossing is too Herculean a task, an adventure trapped deep in chaotic traffic.
But as the road-users cry for an overbridge here, a bridge designed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) less than a kilometer away stands unfinished for the fourth year
Awaiting clearance from the Commissioner of Rail Safety (CRS), the DRDO bridge, when completed, will clearly be out of range for the general public. And this could precisely be the reason why it is delayed. The mounting traffic woes at the poorly located Kaggadasapura level-crossing had reportedly forced political interests to look at the DRDO bridge as a temporary reprieve. But DRDO, it is learnt, would have none of that.
Without the CRS nod, the Railways cannot link the two stretches of the bridge although the project is reportedly financed fully by the DRDO. The Defence organisation had sought to link its Phase 1 campus with the Phase 2 Township through the bridge.
The 2nd Phase houses the DRDO maintenance offices, office of the Controller of Defence Accounts, a guesthouse, commercial complex and training units besides the director’s bungalow and other residential quarters.
DRDO’s fear is that allowing public vehicles on the bridge would trigger unprecedented traffic and noise pollution inside its relatively quiet and secure campus.
“Public vehicles were allowed to pass through the Phase 1 DRDO Township, honouring an agreement signed 30 years ago. But today it has become such a big nuisance that the gates are shut for outside traffic between 8 pm and 7 am,” a top Defence official told Deccan Herald.
The unfinished bridge work has increased the pressure on the Kaggadasapura level-crossing manifold. A big chunk of the vehicles that pass through the crossing originate from the Phase-2 quarters. School students from the Township are particularly hit, as the vehicles ferrying them invariably get stuck at the railway gate for hours.
A proposal to build a separate two-lane bridge in the vicinity of the level-crossing is stuck in the drawing room. South Western Railways (SWR) officials said the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is yet to submit the alignment of the approach roads. Only if this design is ready can the Railways plan the location and architecture of the bridge.
Chief Administrative Officer, Construction, SWR, Adesh Sharma said he was unaware of the DRDO bridge or its status. But he was sure that the Railways could not go ahead with a Rail Over Bridge (ROB) at Kaggadasapura unless BBMP acquired the land for the approach roads.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/354989/a-rail-overbridge-hanging-4.html
GOK / BBMP / BDA / Bangalore Trafic Police need to work closely with SWR to ensure that all ROB / RUB's r completed well within time.
Its in the interest of
1. Road Travellers of City Traffic
2. For Suburban Rail to run more services
3 Indian Railway to use tracks effectively for running more intercity trains & to improve operaitions efficency.
4. Cost over runs
ROB between Yeswanthpura - Yelahanka
Tender Value : Rs 15.26 Crore Period of Completion : 12 Months
http://www.swr.indianrailways.gov.in...&lang=0&id=0,3
looks like once again SWR has called this Tender, mostly its Yelahanka By-pass Allalsandra crossing
Construction of RUBs, ROBs progressing at a slow pace
A Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) team went around the city inspecting the railway underbridges (RUB) and railway overbridges (ROB) under construction here on Wednesday.
the team inspected the RUB under construction at Judicial Layout, which was taken up around eight months ago. The officials assured the Mayor that the work would be completed within two months’ time. Similarly, at Yelahanka where a RUB was proposed, the BBMP team noticed that there was no gate even at the railway crossing.
At Allalasandra, they inspected an ROB under construction. Though taken up around two months ago, only 5 per cent of the work has been completed. The officials said that with the traffic police yet to give clearance for the diversion of traffic, the work had not progressed much. They have been directed to complete it in six months’ time.
Another ROB stuck in limbo is the one at Byappanahalli. To complete the work, the BBMP will require 2.5 acres of land belonging to the MEG and Centre. The BBMP has assured defence officials of renewing their Ulsoor Lake contract. Army officials have stated that they will get the required clearance from their higher authorities.
Addressing presspersons later, Mr. Sathyanarayana said there were 44 ROB/ RUB proposed in the city. Of these, 14 are under construction — seven RUBs, five ROBs and two foot-overbridges — at a cost of Rs. 137 crore. The cost is being shared equally between South Western Railway (SWR) and the BBMP. The civic body had already deposited Rs. 40 crore. He added he would apprise the Chief Minister about the ROB/ RUBs proposed in the city.
“Once we get the clearance from SWR, Hubli, we will soon take up the projects,” he added.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/construction-of-rubs-robs-progressing-at-a-slow-pace/article5218468.ece
Good to see that Bangalore Mayor has taken interest to go arround.
I feel CM and Railway Minister should sit with all senior officals of GOK & Railway including BBMP to resolve the issues in one go.
Land acquisition process delaying Yelahanka bridge
The owner of the contentious land is the brother-in-law of a former minister, and he has denied its ownership transfer
Arailway overbridge that is supposed to ease commuting woes of people in Yelahanka has not fulfilled that promise in three years.
Construction work has come to a standstill over the last year, and doesn't seem likely to make any progress for a long time to come.
This, it has now been revealed, is because of faulty planning of BBMP and the executing agency, South Western Railway (SWR).
The civic agency has been unable to acquire around 7,500 sqft of land at the site of the project essential to its completion. Though complete by about 80 per cent, it requires this piece of land to ensure passage of vehicles over the bridge.
Officials working on this project claim that the officials who initially took up the project didn't acquire the required land for completion of the project, which is now delaying it.
The project should have been taken up only after acquiring all land required for it, but the BBMP handed over only some of the land to the railways for them to begin the project. It ignored acquisition of the important piece of land, and this has now become the stumbling block in the completion of the project.
A large part (5,456sqft) of the all-important land belongs to Sridhar Murthy, brother-in-law of former minister R Krishnappa, while another resident of the area, Harish owns the other part (2,078sqft).
Former railway minister Sadananda Gowda had assigned January 2015 as the deadline for the railways to complete the project, but meeting that deadline is now a remote possibility.
A railway official said, "The BBMP plays a major role in the completion of major projects, but this one has become critical. Completion of the Yelahanka road overbridge project now requires nearly Rs 30 crore and BBMP is delaying this payment. Moreover, the BBMP has to acquire the said land and hand it over to us for us to resume the construction. Since this has not happened, the completion has been affected."
According to reliable sources, neither the railways nor the BBMP seem to be aware of the ownership of some land at the site on which piers were constructed by railway officials. The landowner Sridhar Murthy only later realised that the piers had come up on his land. He objected to the construction activities there and stopped the work.
Yelahanka MLA SR Vishwanath told Bangalore Mirror that the work was in fact getting delayed because of land acquisition process.
"The BBMP needs to acquire land for the ROB on the Yelahanka stretch, but work on the stretch towards Bengaluru is in progress. The owner of the land in question, Sridhar Murthy, has not agreed to the transfer of development rights (TDR) and is claiming a huge cash remedy, which the BBMP is not in a position to pay. We have sent a proposal of negotiation of the land price, which is pending with the BBMP commissioner. A decision will shortly be taken," he said.
A source revealed that Murthy has asked the BBMP to provide cash compensation according to the new land acquisition act, which has not yet been implemented. But the commissioner is ready to exercise his power to acquire the land under the Karnataka Municipal Act 1976 section 175, which allows him to directly negotiate with the landowner to purchase land to be used for the benefit of the public.
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/civic/Land-acquisition-process-delaying-Yelahanka-bridge/articleshow/45406224.cms?
Same story accross Bangalore, even on ORR near Yesavantpur Railway Track Goraguntepallya, work is going very slow.
At Baiyyappanahallai Defence has not give land for completion of ROB.
At Sahakara Nagar : work on ROB has not started as Land owner got stay.
Near RPC layout underpass, BBMP is not able to get small chunck of land.
These thing r costing on vehicle movement interms of fuel, stress on commuters and escalating cost on the project, Train moveents too r affected with these issues