CRS for Bangalore

Overview

Per McKinsey report on India’s urbanization to 2030:

  • 590 million people will live in cities, nearly twice the population of US today
  • 270 million people will be the net increase working age population
  • 70% of net new employment will be generated in cities
  • 91 million households will be middle class, up from 22 million today
  • 700-900 million sq mtr of commercial & residential space needs to be built, or a new Chicago every year
  • 2.5 billion sq mtrs of roads will have to be paved, 20 times the capacity created in the past decade
  • 7400 kms of metros & subways will need to be constructed, 20 times the capacity added in the past decade

Bengaluru is a leader in this growth. Per the report, it will have more than 10 million people inhabiting it by 2030, of whom; a majority will be from the middle and lower income group. For them, the urban mobility challenge will only increase as the working population increases and hence, commute will become a major quality of life indicator.

Further, research by Center for Ecological Sciences, IISc, reveals a 76% decline in vegetation cover and a 79% decline in water bodies due to the increase in built up space in the urban areas of Bengaluru. This implies that any further significant  net addition within the urban area will result in a decline in standard of living.

How Bengaluru builds its infrastructure & manages this growth will determine if it will continue to lead in taking the country forward or it will become a failure leading to urban chaos.

Growth Center paradigm

CTTP 2007 commissioned by KUIFDC/IDD of GoK had this to say regarding Commuter Rail on existing tracks “With the development of the huge Multiple Economic Activity Areas like Electronic City, I.T. Parks, Industrial & Commercial Areas with consequent job opportunities on the one hand and availability of comparatively cheaper accommodation in surrounding towns like Hosur, Ramanagaram and Tumkur etc. where a large number of working population is likely to live, substantial of commuter movement between these towns and the Metropolis will take place.”

One critical element of this urban operating model of the future is how cities will make and enforce land & space choices. Housing has already become unaffordable in Bengaluru for the lower and middle classes. No city in India has allocated space and zoning for affordable housing. The housing market has a preference to locate close to commercial/urban spaces to increase the premium the houses can fetch. This increases both, the cost & mixed use urban sprawl. Counter magnet cities, with suburban mass transit, is the best and most effective way to focus on affordable housing for middle & lower income groups who will constitute 75% of the future workforce. Nearby suburban towns were often viewed as best options for setting up industries to release growth pressures on the city to absorb new migrants and to relocate some people from the city. It never happened, because a business ecosystem cannot be artificially replaced or relocated. These suburban cities need to be zoned to take the housing pressure off Bengaluru and this can happen only when the option of traveling to Bengaluru quickly and cheaply becomes a reality.

From the McKinsey report one can gather that, for the first time in India’s history, Karnataka along with other large south Indian states will have more people in its cities than in its villages. This means that the pressure on cities will increase considerably in the future to avoid urban sprawl and still manage their growth. Increasing the area of Bengaluru and making it Bruhat Bengaluru has put undue pressure on civic bodies and made the area difficult to manage. The alternate model is to enable suburban cities to become more attractive destinations for settlers & connect them via mass transit trains to within an approximate one hour commute distance from Bengaluru. 

In the past two decades the state government in co-operation with the central government has attempted a few options to address the urban transportation challenges. Namma Metro, Mono Rail, High Speed Rail to BIAL, rejuvenated BMTC service are all examples. While most of these focus on making commute within Bengaluru city easier, the suburban connect is what will bring dividends in the long run. 

Efficiency in operations, more advanced levels of automation in signaling supplemented by close coordination with local authorities in implementing last mile solutions and superior interchange with metro is going to determine the success of the Commuter rail.

The rest of this report will provide recommendations to ensure that the Commuter Rail can be implemented successfully and be counted amongst the best in the world.

2. CRS - What and Where? 

Commuter Rail Service

Objective: Train services connecting suburban growth centers within 1 hour travel distance to Bangalore consisting of disabled friendly airconditioned trains running on existing tracks doubled or quadrupled to ensure high frequency of greater than 20 trains per day between each source destination pair

The Railways vision 2020 plan had this to say about railways vision for suburban rail "Partnerships with State and City Authorities will be established to augment the infrastructure and manage suburban services under a single management. Both suburban and long-distance trains must also look smart and colourful, reflecting our belief in and commitment to ‘Change for a better tomorrow’"

CRS Historical journey

  • 1983, Southern Railway team recommends 3 commuter rail lines, and a 58-km ring railway over a 25-year period.

  • 1988, RITES transport study report, among other things & also improvements on commuter rail lines

  • In 1993, the State established committee to look into mass rapid transit recommended the same circular railway  put forward by Southern Railways in 1983
  • 1998 – RITES does survey for Local Trains funded by World Bank
  • 2003 – RITES completes survey for Local Trains for State Govt
  • 2007 - RITES does survey for Local Trains for BMLTA/IDD department for CTTP2007 Bengaluru
  • Jan 2008 – IDD agrees to fund for two Rakes DEMU services
  • Nov 2009 – BMLTA assigns work to IDD to study Commuter Rail servicesconnecting all peripheral stations
  • 14 Dec 2009 – SWR finally agrees to start few Local Trains to Anekal/Devanhallai, Kengeri as per the BMLTA meeting
  • Dec 2009 – MoS Shri K H Muniyappa makes press briefing that State Govt is not yet decided on Local Trains / Commuter Rail Services
  • 2 Jan 2010 – MoS Shri K H Muniyappa makes announcement starting of Local Trains between Yeshwanthpur to Anekal and Devanahalli
  • Feb 2010 – Bengaluru South MP Shri H N Ananth Kumar request the MoS Railways to take up the Local Train facility similar to Mumbai
  • 3 Mar 2010 – CM of Karnataka Shri Yeddyurappa writes letter to Railway Minister to sanction the Local Train Project with 50% project cost to be contributed by State Govt.
     

After 27 years Bengaluru is still waiting for a full fledged commuter rail service

CTTP Map

 

2.1 Target growth centers for Commuter Rail

2.1.1. Hosur: Distance: 40kms; Population: >1.5 lakhs; Magnets: Anekal Pop:> 0.5 lakh, Electronic City Pop> 3 lakhs

2.1.2. Ramanagara: Distance: 50 kms; Population: >1 lakh; Magnets: Kengeri pop: >0.5 lakh

2.1.3 Tumkur: Distance: 70 kms; Population: > 30 lakhs; Magnets: Nelamangala pop: >0.5 lakh; Peenya & other industrial belts

2.1.4 Chickballapur: Distance: 70 kms; Population: > 0.7 lakh; Magnets: Devanahalli > 0.4 lakh: ITIR

2.1.5 Dodballapur: Distance: 40; Population: > 0.9 lakh; Magnets: Yelahanka > 3 lakhs: Dodballapur Indl area

2.1.6 Bangarpet: Distance: 90 kms; Population: > 0.5 lakh; Magnets: Whitefield, KIADB

2.2. Hubs

2.2.1 Yeswantpur - CRS West Hub

2.2.2 Byappanahalli (Benninganahalli) - CRS East Hub

2.2.3 Yelahanka - CRS North Hub

With trains from Yeswantpur towards Chickballapur & from Byappanahalli towards Dodballapur converging here Yelahanka is well positioned to be the CRS North hub. It serves major industrial regions of ITIR, DBP, BIA & Dodballapur. With a stop for HSRL also, this station needs to be developed into a multifunctional hub and taken up on the lines of Yeswantpur & Byappanahalli.

2.3. CRS Routes

2.3.1 Yeswantpur - Yelahanka - Devanahalli - Chickballapur

2.3.2 Byappanahalli(Benninganahalli) - Jakkur - Yelahanka - Doddballapur

2.3.3 Yeswantpur - Byappanahalli(Benninganahalli) - Anekal - Hosur

2.3.4 Tumkur/Nelamangala - Yeswantpur - Byappanahalli(Benninganahalli)

2.3.5 Yeswantpur/Yelahanka - Byappanahalli(Benninganahalli) - Whitefield - Malur - Bangarpet

2.3.6 Yelahanka - Yeshwantpur - NICE PRR/City - Kengeri - Ramanagara

2.4. Commuter Rail Segments

 2.4.1 Yeswantpur to Byappanahalli(Benninganahalli) segment

 

Station

Catchment Wards/Area

Population in ,000

Yeshwantpur

17

35

 

37

36

 

42

26

 

44

34

Lottegolahalli

36

36

 

18

26

 

35

30

Hebbal

19

24

 

20

26

 

21

24

 

8

22

Banaswadi

49

32

 

59

36

 

28

35

Total Coverage

 

422

No Station

22

26

 

23

35

 

32

27

 

30

35

 

60

35

 

50

32

 

56

29

 

57

30

Total Uncovered

 

249

As seen from the above table, out of the total catchment of 6.71 lakh people 37.1% of the population along the route do not have access to the service because of lack of station in the vicinity

In order to ensure full coverage the following stations are proposed along the route

Proposed additional stations:

  1. Gokula Extension/Badappa Gardens
  2. ORR/D Rajagopal Rd Junction
  3. Guddadahalli
  4. Kanakanagar
  5. Irshad Nagar/HBR Layout
  6. Kadugondhalli

2.4.2 Byappanahalli to Hosur

 

Station

Catchment Wards/Area

Population in ,000

Bellandur

149

25

Karmelrama

150

20

 

Sarjapur

20

Heelalige

Bommasandra

20

Anekal road

Anekal+Jigani+Attibele

200

Hosur

Hosur

200

Total Coverage

 

485

No Station

81

25

 

85

22

 

86

23

Total Uncovered

 

70

As seen from the above table, out of the total catchment of 5.55 lakh people 12.6% of the population along the route do not have access to the service because of lack of station in the vicinity

In order to ensure full coverage the following stations are proposed along the route

Proposed additional stations

  1. Angel Arcade/Kagagadasapuram
  2. ORR Jn @ Karthik Nagar
  3. Varthur Rd Junction / Chinnapanahalli
  4. Chandapur

2.4.3 Byappanahalli to Yelahanka segment 

 

Station Catchment Wards/Area Population in ,000
Baiyappanhalli 50 31
Channasandra 26 22
Yelahanka 4 25
     
Total Coverage   78
                           
No Station Horamavu 28
  Hennur- Bagalur Rd 25
  Thanisandra Rd 25
  Jakkur 15
   NH7 Junction @ Nehru Nagar 10
Total Not Covered   103

As seen from the above table, out of the total catchment of 1.81 lakh people 56.9% of the population along the route do not have access to the service because of lack of station in the vicinity

In order to ensure full coverage the following stations are proposed along the route

Proposed additional stations

  1. Horamavu
  2. Hennur - Bagalur Rd
  3. Thanisandra Main Road / Narayanpura
  4. Jakkur
  5. Nehru Nagar / NH-7 Junction

2.4.4 Yeshwantpur to Yelahanka Segment

Station Catchment Wards/Area Population in ,000
Yeshwantpur   37 35
Lottegollahalli 8 10
Kodigehalli 9 12
Yelahanka   10
     
Total Coverage   67
     
No Station Gokula Extension (36) 35
  BEL /Devi Nagar 10
  Tata Nagar 10
  CQAL Layout 10
  L & T /ALLalsandra Mn Rd 10
  Jakkur 40
  Yelahanka Tn (3, 4) 49
     
Total Not Covered   164

As seen from the above table, out of the total catchment of 2.31 lakh people 70% of the population along the route do not have access to the service because of lack of station in the vicinity

In order to ensure full coverage the following stations are proposed along the route

Proposed additional stations

  1. Gokula Extension
  2. BEL /Devi Nagar
  3. Tata Nagar
  4. CQAL Layout
  5. L & T /ALLalsandra Mn Rd
  6. Jakkur
  7. Yelahanka Town

2.4.5 Yelahanka to Dodballapur

 

Station Catchment Wards/Area Population in ,000
Yelahanka 3, 4 50
Rajankunte   10
Doddaballapur   70
     
Total Coverage   130
     
No Station    
  Yelahanka Tn 10
  Kanchanhalli 20
  Naganahalli 10
  Harohalli 25
  Puttenhalli 15
Total Not Covered   80

As seen from the above table, out of the total catchment of 2.1 lakh people 38.2% of the population along the route do not have access to the service because of lack of station in the vicinity

In order to ensure full coverage the following stations are proposed along the route

Proposed additional stations

  1. Kenchanhalli
  2. Naganahalli / Harohalli
  3. Putenhalli
  4. Doddaballapur Industrial Town

2.4.6 Yelahanka to Chickballapur

 

Station Catchment Wards/Area Population in ,000
Yelahanka 3, 4 49
Bettahalsoor Sonnapanhalli, MVIT, Ganganahalli 20
Daddajala   10
Devenahalli   78
Avati   37
Venkatgiri Kote   10
Nandi Hills   10
Chik Ballapur   62
     
Total Coverage   276
     
No Station    
  Yelahanka Tn 10
  Kanchanhalli 20
  Doddasandra 10
  BIAL 25
  MVIT, Sonappanhalli, Ganganahalli 15
Total Not Covered   80

As seen from the above table, out of the total catchment of 2.76 lakh people 28.9% of the population along the route do not have access to the service because of lack of station in the vicinity

In order to ensure full coverage the following stations are proposed along the route

Proposed additional stations

  1. Kenchanhalli
  2. NITTE Meenakshi Institute of Technology
  3. MVIT / Ganganahalli
  4. NH-7/BIAL trumpet
  5. IVC Road
  6. SJCIT (Chikballapur)

2.4.7 Yeswantpur to Tumkur segment 

Station Catchment Wards/Area Population in ,000
Yeshwantpur   37, 45, 36, 17 141
Chik Banavara   164
Soldevanahalli   5
Golhalli   74
Bhairanayakanhalli   5
Dodbele   5
Muddalingahalli   5
Nidvanda   5
Dobbspet   25
Hirehalli   5
Kyatsandra   162
Tumkur   248
     
Total Coverage   844
     
No Station 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 162
  41 27
  Tarabandahalli 10
  Hesrghatta 5
  Nelamangala Cross 10
  Thayamogundlu 10
Total Not Covered   224

As seen from the above table, out of the total catchment of 10.68 lakh people 20.97% of the population along the route do not have access to the service because of lack of station in the vicinity

In order to ensure full coverage the following stations are proposed along the route

Proposed additional stations

  1. ORR Junction at Peenya/Jalahalli
  2. HMT Main Road Junction
  3. Jalahalli Road
  4. Kammgondahalli
  5. Chikkasandra
  6. Hesarghatta Road /Tarabandahalli
  7. Shreyas Arcade
  8. NH207 Junction
  9. Dobbspet
  10. Siddaganga Institute of Technology

2.4.8 Yeswantpur to Ramanagaram segment

 

Station Catchment Wards/Area Population in ,000
Yeshwantpur   37, 44, 36 104
Malleswaram 45,66 70
Bangalore City 120, 121 70
Nayandhalli   22
Jnana Bharati  (BU)   25
Kengeri   42
Hejjala   22
Bidadi   50
Ketohalli   12
Ramanagaram   80
     
     
Total Coverage   497
     
No Station RVCE/Duvasapalya 40
  NICE Rd Intersection 25
  Country Club 20
  Humpa Pura/RK Estates 10
  Kumbalgodu 10
  Ghousia College                           15
Total Not Covered   120

As seen from the above table, out of the total catchment of 6.12 lakh people 24.96% of the population along the route do not have access to the service because of lack of station in the vicinity

In order to ensure full coverage the following stations are proposed along the route

Proposed additional stations

  1. Subramanyam Nagar
  2. Srirampura
  3. Binnypet
  4. RPC layout
  5. Basaveshwara Park / Chord Road
  6. Deepanjali Metro Station
  7. Sports Authority of India
  8. Rajarajeswari Dental College
  9. Humpapur / Rakumar Estate
  10. Ghousia College of Engineering

2.4.9 Baiyappanhalli to Malur/Bangarapet segment

  Station Catchment Wards/Area Population in ,000
  Baiyappanhalli 50, 58 66
  K R Puram 52, 53, 54, 55, 56 120
  Whitefield 83, 84, 85 69
  Malur   27
  Byatrayanhalli                         10                     
  Tekal                                       10
  Bangarapet                                       40
  Total Coverage   342
       
  No Station Garudachar Palya 20
    Kadugodi 22
    NH 207 Junction 10
    Tarabhalli 10
    SH 95 Junction 5
  Total Not Covered   67

As seen from the above table, out of the total catchment of 4 lakh people 16% of the population along the route do not have access to the service because of lack of station in the vicinity

In order to ensure full coverage the following stations are proposed along the route

Proposed additional stations

  1. ITI Industrial Area
  2. Hoodi Main Road
  3. Kdigehalli
  4. NH-207
  5. Tarabhalli
  6. Malur KIADB

3 Proposition

3.1 Phase 1

3.1.1 Setup of SPV (3 months)

Thus it is highly recommended that the Suburban CRS be run under an SPV called Commuter Rail Authority (CRA) which will consist at a bare minimum the following stake holders

  1. SWR representing IR
  2. IDD representing GoK
  3. BMTC representing last mile
  4. BMRC representing metro integration

It is important the the SPV be setup first so the implementation can be done in an organized fashion. Without this each decision will be made in a disjointed fashion leading to delays in implementation and unsatisfactory end results

In 2007, the Rail India Technical and Economic Society (RITES), a Government of India enterprise, brought out a Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Plan (CTTP) for Bangalore. The report states that “Major developments have been proposed in the suburban towns of Bangalore by BMRDA in the BMR. This is likely to increase interaction betweenBangalore and these suburban towns. There will be need to provide commuter rail services to these towns fromBangalore”. It also says that the commuter rail system should be extended up to BMRDA’s new townships and beyond to act as sub-urban services. 

It also goes on to state “In the suburban segment, the main challenges are the creation of adequate capacity, segregation of commuter lines from long-distance lines and expansion of services to ensure comfort of commuters. Partnership with state authorities will be necessary for development of suburban rail systems. Railways may also aim at integrating the metro-rail and sub-urban rail-systems under a single management in partnership with the respective state/city authorities.”

3.1.2 Enhance accessibility to existing stations (3 months )

The railway vision plan 2020 says this on stations "However, the stations are inadequately designed and equipped to handle such large multitudes of passengers. They do not provide easy access or comfortable experience prior to boarding or after disembarkation from trains. Street-level access is generally restricted to one or two end-platforms (except at terminal type of station layouts). Inter-platform connectivity is through foot over-bridges which are often inadequate, apart from being passenger-unfriendly"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Supporting infrastructure for the Feeder Service BMTC - Proper Bus Stop, Info panels
  • Preferential Access Point for Public Transport Drop Off/Pick up - Taxis, Cabs, Auto
  • Preferential Parking Spaces for Environmental Friendly Vehicles like Bicycles
  • General Security 24/7 around station and access roads

3.1.3 Last mile connectivity (3 months)

Rolling Stock features

It is very important that in order to make Commuter Rail useful and viable, it has to have the tight integration with city’s PT systems. Integration with other PT systems provides the commuter with point to point connectivity right from the town outside
Bengaluru to the specific location in the city. The Integration could range from Commuter Rail station at the same physical location to Commuter Rail station being little walking distance to other PT transit stations. Carriages having facilities
to carry cycles will go a long way in helping promote green last mile options. It also benefits the economically weaker
sections to save on the total cost of commuting

BMTC Connection

The lack of a proper last mile connectivity has been a major reason for failure of usage of CRS in many cities. BMTC needs to support CRS by providing the feeder service to all the CRS stops/stations in the BMTC operational area. The feeder service at bare minimum should connect the CRS stations to the nearest BMTC transit center. Looking at BMTC footprint this should be easy proposition. All it may require is some change in the route or could be an exclusive feeder loop connecting the station and the nearest transit center. Acceptance of Common Fare Card for easy transfer would be highly required and beneficial to all.

3.1.4 Upgrade stations (Smart Stations) to have common branding & facilities (3 months)

Common branding enables common facilities to be offered under single roof. It is administratively easier to provide information and services. This requires the current SWR services to destinations in the commuter rail target list also to be
rolled into the ambit of commuter rail. SWR trains to destinations like Bangarpet, Hosur and nearby towns can become Commuter rail services thus enabling common ticketing schemes and timetable sharing. This inorganic acquisition of existing services will help scale the Commuter Rail services faster.

 Information Systems

  • Electronic Information Displays - Announcing Arrivals/Departures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Electronic / Manual Information Counter - Information on nearest transit centers, Business Centers, Hotels/Restaurants etc,

Fare Tickets / Smart Cards

 The Railways vision plan also mentions "Distribution channels for railway tickets would be constantly innovated so that obtaining a railway ticket is completely hassle-free. PRS/UTS terminals, e-ticket services, tickets through post offices, ATMs, petrol pumps and smart-card based tickets for unreserved travel would be expanded to improve access. New and emerging technologies will be harnessed towards this end"

  • Fare Tickets/Smart Cards Vending Kiosks (Self Service)
  • Fare Tickets/Smart Cards Vending Counters (Manned)

 

Common ticketing system between CRS, Metro & BMTC must be formed

 Basic Commuter Amenities

Availability of basic commuter amenities is a must for the success of the Commuter Rail and increased patronage. Below listed are these basic commuter amenities:

  • CRS Travel Information/Planning Kiosks
  • Customer Service - Telephone/Manned
  • Clean and Hygienically maintained Restrooms
  • Internet Hot-Spots
  • Charging outlets for mobile devices
  • First Aid Counter
  • ATM / Postal Vending Kiosks
  • Help for Physically Handicapped, Senior Citizens, Women with Children

Bulk Goods Transportation Facilities

The towns located around Bengaluru city are the growth centers and Commuter Rail is their smart life line for their regular commute, business trips, goods transport from and to their towns. CR can facilitate the goods transportation by having rakes for carrying bulk goods and products. One good example is seen in Mumbai's local service, where each train has a special bogey exclusively for carrying bulk goods.


3.1.5 Optimized routing of existing SWR services to create bandwidth (6 months)

Following trains which are currently running as slow/passenger trains needs to be brought into the ambit of CR.

Sr No Train No From Station Dep To Station Arr. Type of Train Remarks  
Following Trains to be completely converted into EMU coaches on Bangalore to Bangarapet for Commutre Rail  
1 526SW Bangalore City 7:00 Marikuppam 9:35 Passenger Starting Only 16 Kms extra & 5 more stations exists
  102SW Bangalore City 9:20 Bangarapet junction 11:00 Passenger This train is SBC- Arakkonam Junction  
2 530SW Bangalore City 10:00 Bangarapet junction 12:05 Passenger Pair for 529SW, wasting 20 minites at Bangalore city  
3 511SW Bangalore City 12:20 Marikuppam 15:15 Passenger Pair for 512SW, wasting 100 minites at Bangalore city  
4 532SW Bangalore City 14:45 Bangarapet junction 16:25 Passenger Pair for 531SW, wasting 15 minites at Bangalore city  
5 503SW Bangalore Cantt. 15:00 Bangarapet junction 17:05 Passenger    
6 524SW Bangalore City 18:05 Marikuppam 20:35 Passenger Pair for 525SW, wasting 15 minites at Bangalore city  
7 6522 Bangalore City 19:35 Bangarapet junction 21:10 Express    
                 
8 523SW Marikuppam 6:20 Bangalore City 9:15 Passenger Starting  
9 529SW Bangarapet junction 7:30 Bangalore City 9:30 Passenger Starting  
10 512SW Marikuppam 8:00 Bangalore City 10:30 Passenger Starting  
11 502SW Bangarapet junction 11:00 Bangalore Cantt. 13:00 Passenger    
12 531SW Bangarapet junction 12:40 Bangalore City 14:25 Passenger Pair for 530SW, wasting 30 minites at Bangarpet Jn  
13 525SW Marikuppam 14:00 Bangalore City 17:00 Passenger    
  101SW Bangarapet junction 16:30 Bangalore City 18:45 Passenger This train is Arakkonam Junction - SBC   
14 6521 Bangarapet junction 21:40 Bangalore City 23:25 Express Pair for 6522, wasting 20 minites at Bangarpet Jn  
Total 7 + 1 pair of  Passanger trains  & one express Trains running between Bangalore city to Bangarpet excluding Arakkonam can be converted into Commuter Rail  
                 
Following Trains need to be convereted into Commtre Rail once Electrification of Tracks completed ( after 6 months )  
1 551SW Bangalore City 8:40 Chikballapur 10:50 Passenger    
2 595Sw Bangalore City 18:00 Chikballapur 19:55 Passenger    
3 596SW Chikballapur 7:55 Bangalore City 9:45 Passenger    
4 552SW Chikballapur 15:55 Bangalore City 18:00 Passenger    
5 YH-1 Yesvanthpur 6:20 Hosur 7:55 Passenger    
6 YH-2 Yesvanthpur 15:35 Hosur 17:05 Passenger    
7 YD-1 Yesvanthpur 10:40 Devanhallai 11:45 Passenger    
8 HY-1 Hosur 8:10 Yesvanthpur 9:50 Passenger    
9 HY-2 Hosur 17:45 Yesvanthpur 19:20 Passenger    
10 DY-1 Devanhallai 13:15 Yesvanthpur 14:35 Passenger    
11 221Sw Bangalore City 9:20 Tumkur 11:05 Passenger    
12 225SW Bangalore City 13:35 Tumkur 15:25 Passenger    
13 226SW Tumkur 15:50 Bangalore City 17:40 Passenger    
14 222SW Tumkur 11:25 Bangalore City 13:15 Passenger    
Another 7 Pair of Trains tol be converted into EMU Rakes after electrification of Tracks  and to be added into Commuter Rail  
Effectively existing 14 pair of Trains should be running as Commuter Rail within 6-12 months and more services to be introduced by utilizing the capacity of Traks and Rakes.  
We can have Fast Commuter Rail similar to SBC - Bangarpet  

3.1.6 New services on identified routes including creating last mile connectivity (6 months)

3.1.7 Increase frequency on all routes to minimum 8 services in a day (6 months)

 

3.2 Phase 2

3.2.1 New signaling system (12 months)

3.2.2 New identified stations on all routes (18 months)

New Stations are listed in the section 2.4.1 to 2.4.9

3.2.3 Doubling & Electrification of tracks as necessary (18 months)

 
Sr No  Segment  Distance in Kms Doubling Needed Electrification Needed Status / Remarks  
1 Yelahanka to Yesavnthpur 12.45 Yes Done Already Railway Budget Sanctioned, DPR is ready, Tenders to be called  
2 Yelahanka to K R Puram 15.80 Yes Done Already Railway Budget Sanctioned, DPR is ready, Tenders to be called  
3 Yelahanka to Chikballapur     46.05 Yes Yes    
4 Yelahanka to Dodballapur 20.72 Yes Yes    
5 Yesavnthpur to Banaswadi 14.76 Yes Done    
6 Banaswadi to Hosur  51.36 Yes Yes    
7 Banswadi to Baiyyappanahalli 4.47 Yes Done    
8 Yesvanthpur to Soldevanhalli 10.78 No Yes    
9 Soladevanhalli  to Nelamngala & upto NH-4 8.00 / 10.00 Yes Yes    
10 Soladevanhalli  to Tumkur 53.22 No Yes    
11 Kengeri to Ramanagaram 32.43 No Yes As part of Bangalore to Mysore Doubling & Electrification, this streach electrification will be done at time. Need to check current status of electrification
    270.04        
  From the above Double Track Exists  : 96.43 Kms        
  From the above Electrified Track exists  : 47.48 Kms        
  Total Track Doubling Needed :  173.61 Kms        
  Electrification Needed : 222.56 Kms To check Electrification for 32.43 Kms of Kengeri to Ramangaram  
             
             
  In the above   Yelahanka to Yesavnthpur,  Yelahanka to K R Puram, Yesvanthpur to Banaswadi Doubling of Track Dist : 43 Kms are very critical for  Commuter Rail take off.
 

3.2.5 Increase frequency to 20 trains per day on all routes (24 months)

3.2.6 Enhance Hubs to handle increased traffic (24 months )

3.2.7 Complete integration with all modes of PT systems including metro/mono/HSRL (24 months) 7 Smart Public Transport Connections

All over the world, the trend in public transport system is to integrate all modes of PT systems. Gone are the days when each one of them operated in complete isolation. In India also this integration philosophy is slowly picking up steam though have long way to go.

It is very important that in order to make CRS useful and viable, it has to have the tight integration with city’s PT systems. Integration with other PT systems provides the commuter with point to point connectivity right from the town outside Bengaluru to the specific location in the city.

The Integration could range from CRS station at the same physical location to CRS station being little walking distance to other PT transit stations. Simple access connectivity connectivity can be like this.

Metro Connection

Fortunately Namma Metro intersects the IR routes at many places in the city. CRS simply needs to integrate with Namma Metro at these locations, i.e provide easy interchange. Some of the locations that can provide easy transit include:

  1. Yeshwantpur
  2. Byappanahalli(Benninganahalli)
  3. Kengeri
  4. Whitefield

HSRL Connection

Exclusive connectivity to the new airport via high speed rail as an when becomes operational also provides the opportunity for CRS to integrate with HSRL thereby providing the commuters from the nearby towns another PT connection to reach the new airport and vice versa. Interchange with HSRL needs to be provided at both Yelahanka and Hebbal.

 

Summary

 

35 new proposed stations

160 is the possible number of services per day on all routes suggested for optimum efficiency

376 Kilometers is the approximate distance covered by the proposed routes

1,50,000 is the carrying capacity per day which can be increased by adding rakes

45,00,000 is the number of people in the catchment areas covered by the current SWR tracks

33% is the percentage of the population in the catchment areas who need access to a local station

2010 is the year for Commuter Rail in Bengaluru

SPV is the way to go for rolling out commuter services with all stakeholders being a part of this entity working together to make this a success

All images, trademarks, information used here have been gathered from the information made available in the public domain. All copyrights rest with the original authors. Praja.in does not vouch for the accuracy or veracity of the information collected from public sources and 3rd parties and not liable for any consequential effects of the usage of the same.

 

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Comments

Testing GVS

 

 In the above list we can

 In the above list we can also have the 6519/20 jolarpettai express from bangalore. It leaves bangalore city at 17:20hrs and stops at cantt,east,byappanhalli,K.R.Pruam,Whitefield,tyakal,malur to reach bangarpet at 19:00hrs. will be suitable for people returning from city. opposite it leaves bangarpet at 6:10AM.  to reach bangalore at 8:00AM. 

Not a fancy name for trains

 Long distance trains at least trains coming from neighboring states or starting in Karnataka, should have some extra stops in stations in the CRS plan

It should in fact be the opposite, long distance trains need to skip stops and only stop in the identified Commuter hub stations or other important ones. Commuter Rail takes care of all intermediate stops. In fact some long distance trains like passenger  trains can terminate in the growth centers itself and not come to Bangalore city at all. The city should only take super fast trains with commuter rail hub stops. This will enable the growth centers to develop into a full fledged city & provide high frequency connectivity to Bangalore via commuter rail.

No extra trains also need to be introduced

Do take time to read and understand the proposed model so you are better informed on how it works. Commuter Rail is not a fancy name for IR interstate trains. It is like mumbai local train system forming a high frequency neighborhood area network.

Using existing trains

Long distance trains at least trains coming from neighboring states or starting in Karnataka, should have some extra stops in stations in the CRS plan. That will provide convenience to people who live near those stations or who have an alternate way to reach destination because they could avoid traffic. No extra trains also need to be introduced. The best example is Bangarpet. People from the routinely utilize long distance trains.

Doddaballapur Integrated Textile Park Bashetthalli / Connectivi

New textile park to open in Doddaballapur Opening 

The Doddaballapur Integrated Textile Park, with an estimated capacity to produce 1.25 crore metres of cloth annually, would be inaugurated by Union Minister for Textiles Dayanidhi Maran on Saturday.

The textile park is expected to generate an annual business of Rs. 1,200 crore and provide direct/indirect employment to over 10,000 people. The park has been developed under public-private partnership under the Centre-sponsored Scheme for Integrated Textile Park (SITP).

http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/02/stories/2010070261240600.htm

Offical Website  of  DITP :http://ditpl.com/project.html    

Route Map  :http://ditpl.com/IMAGES/way2ditpl_big.jpg

http://www.ficci.com/events/20385/Add_docs/E-brochure.pdf

Area of DITP is arround 454 acres  and employeement of 10000 people. This will really need  Local Rail Connectivity. Other wise will create Traffic problem on Didballapur  & Hebbal to Yelahanka .  Similarly we have major Work Center lik BEL,  ITPL,  Wheel & Axle Plant,  Chikballapur Industrial Park, Toyota at Bidadi, Chandapur need local Train connectivity

Similarly we have so many educational institutions like : MVIT, GKVK, Bangalore Univeristy,  Raj Rajeshwari Dental & Engineering College, Alliance MBA colege,  SIT, Achary Institute of Technology,  Reva Engineering College & other colleges.

Entertainment Centers : Wonderla, Hebbal Lake,  JP park,  Country Club at Kengeri, Dodalladmara, Innovative Film City

Now Govt should act fast on the Commuter Train / Local Trains

sanjeev

Change in the timisYesvanthpur - Hosur,

YH-1 & YH-2  starting timing at Yesvanthpur has been changed  from 1st July 2010,  SWR has not bothered to inform public on the change in timings. From Housr, timings remain same only.

Changed timings are :  YH-1 will depart from Yesvanthpur at  6: 30 AM instead of 6::20                                                            YH-2 will depart from Yesvanthpur at  3:00 PM instead of  3:30PM

@ Kannan &  others   : Its Negative Publicity  by some people, just neglect it.

One of them told on 30-June-10 that very little people use the Yeshvantpur-Hosur passenger and almost none use Yeshvantpur Devanahalli route

The services from Yesvanthpur to Hosur, and Devanhalli started exactly 3 months back without any publicity  by Railways and only bare minimum 2 service  to Housr and one to Devanhalli.   Timings are of not much suitable to any one.   Without any publicity and wrong timings,  how people will start using  in short time. Even when baby has to come to the world after full fledge growth, it needs minimum 9 months time..  Same thing, we need to give time to mature the services and frequency need to be increased as you do not have train betwen 5PM to 7PM. 

From the first month of launching in April,  usage has gradually picked up  on Yesvanthpur to Hosur.   Devnahalli is till to pick up as the timings are of no use to any one on this  route.  Also the Trains ned to be started from Bangalore city and  Housr train does not go to  Baiyyappanahalli which is one more dis-advantage.

Following Factors will force the people to use Local Trains :

1. With increase in petrol prices and increase in BMTC fares along with increase in the travll time by road, will force people to switch over to Local Trains. 

2. Once MTERO starts at Biyyappanahalli and Yesvanthpur, further people will start using these Local Train services. 

3.  As BMTC is providing services from Yesvanthpur, people will gradually will start using Local Trains.

One more thing to note : Some Traffic experts and Decision makers in State Govt  are of the view that  Commuter / Local Train should not  be deployed where METRO is planned other wise this create duplicate facility.  Customer / Passangers have choice to Travelll by METRO / BMTC / Commuter Train.  Take example, Majestic to Whitefiled METRO is planned.  This does not mean people will stop using currently running couple of  passanger Trains between Majestic to Bangarpet.

Sanjeev

Withdrawal of service?

Sorry, if I repeated something that is already known. There are lots of posts and I don't have time to read all.

I plan to relocate to a place in Anekal that is about 1.5 kms from the Anekal rail station. Though the distance between Anekal and Bellandur is much more than the distance between ISRO Layout, Kanakapura Road where I stay now and Bellandur/New Horizon College, I saw the potential of train travel which would take about 45 minutes (actual train journey is about 25 mins) and save myself from the backpian resulting from a 1.5 hours travel for an 18KM stretch and Rs. 45 bus charge oneway.

The biggest disadvantage as of now is that there is no train to return to Anekal after office hours. There is a train at around 4.30 from Bellandur towards Anekal but after 4.30, the next train is at around 7PM or so. It would be much helpful for office goers in Marathahalli/Bellandur area if a train starts from Bellandur bothways towards Hosur and Yeshwantpur at around 6PM. There are a number of huge office spaces coming up in this area and I am sure that many people would start using the train if there are trains at the right timings and if there are good connectivity between the rail stations and the ring road or other main roads.

I went a couple of times to the Anekal rail station and spoke to the people over there. One of them told on 30-June-10 that very little people use the Yeshvantpur-Hosur passenger and almost none use Yeshvantpur Devanahalli route. He said that there is a proposal to cancel the Yeshvantpur-Devanahalli train and start a service from Bidithi. He also said that the frequency and timings of the Yeshvantpur-Hosur passenger can also be changed. Do you have any information on this. Please let me know.

Regards,

Kannan

An extremely late suggestion

Sorry for putting this suggestion in late.  I just saw the post saying that the report is done and wanted to at least mention this after review.  Once the frequency of traffic goes up, it is going to be imperative to put up some ROBs along these lines.  At least on the line going to Hosur via Bellandur, the areas on the other side of the railway track are all revenue areas with piss poor planning, no proper road network and rapidly increasing traffic.  If the train frequency is going to go up, some ROBs may be required.  It will be best to execute that as part of the proposed SPV.  Otherwise, this commuter rail track will simply cut off areas and increase accidents.

Phew

Report is done, will go to print tomorrow. Many thanks to contributors on Praja. You guys rock. Now to get some politicians & babus to release it. 

halt at Byappanahalli

@Naveen,

As the EMU Trains will be used for CRS, so this will have engine on both side, wait time at  Byappanahalli  should not be more then 4-5 minites. 

As suggested by IDS, : we can do a dedicated field study on both these options at this location.

Lets complete the report by filling the  gaps where ever exists

Sanjeev

Benninganahalli/Byappanahalli

I would insist on Benninganahalli, and in the hub report describe the option of using Byappanahalli because of the advantages you have listed. Trains are right now running without a station at old madras road, which can be disastrous in terms of connectivity. The last thing we want is for the CRS to be held hostage because of bandwidth issues at Byappanahalli. Once the SPV gets started we can do a dedicated field study on both these options at this location.

We start that project later with field visit & some shunting puzzles for Byappanahalli

@Sanjeev

Train rake has to go in reverse direction to come to Baiyyappanahalli for train going to Yelahanka.

This would be necessary only if a train has to run between Hosur directly towards Yelahanka via the eastern route/s (ie. without entering city). The distance from Bypappanahalli to Hosur itself is some 40km. Extending the route towards Yelahanka or further will make the trip very long, & a 20 minute halt at Byappanahalli will be both, unavoidable & necessary since it will be a major station - the need for the engine changing ends might thus not pose obstacles for running a direct train between Hosur & Yelahanka, even if trains over the much longer distance are to be operated.

Since we know that Byappanahalli will be  will be willwexpanded anyway with all services, we should suggest this in preference to a new Beniganahalli terminal station. The distance between the existing Byappanahalli station & the track crossings at Benniganahalli is appx'ly 1400m (I checked from Google). As per indications, the NGEF land being handed over to SWR at Byp is even further away. See Byappanahalli land plan at this link. 

BMRC is also planning a pedestrian overpass across their depot from OMR to the SWR station on the other side + integration with BMTC /KSRTC will happen automatically anyways at the Metro terminus. The option to run circular trains will also open up.

I think we, as`praja should push for this option instead of leaving it to them, particularly since we know the kind of cockups they come up with, left to themselves - let them find a way to do this, somehow ! T         he benefits far outweigh the disadvantages hands down - what is your final opinion ?

@Naveen what are your

@Naveen

what are your thoughts on a rake interchange on the line eastwards immediately after Byappanahalli & to the direct line to  Bnaswadi  ?

Option can be explored. In this case also we need to have elevated track to cross the Chennai Track  and track need to come down to ground level where Baiyyappanahalli Goods Yard track comes and then Train rake has to go in reverse direction to come to Baiyyappanahalli for train going to Yelahanka.  This Track can not interfere with Chennai route.  This can be thought out if the distance from Benninganahalli to Baiyyappanhalli  is sufficient to take care of the elevated track crossing  aspect.

Then this will open other options as all trains playing from Yesvanthpur can be routed through  Baiyyapanhallai Goods Yard from Banswadi and further going to Hosur can take up ramp after Baiyyappanahalli and proceed to Belandur and their is no need to Benninganhalli except small station.  In this case all  Trains will be passing through  the Baiyyappanallai.

This is what Indian Railways and IDD with BMTC & BBMP need to decide exact location of station and structural requirements as total distance between Baiyyappanahalli to Benninganahallo is around 1000 M and station platforms need to be around 250 M. So concerned authorities can come out with best feasible solution for optimizing  the train traffic running. based on the above two methods. 

This I feel, we should keep the option open to IR & IDD on this, thats why if you see the route list,  Sathya has mentioned clearly Baiyyappanahalli ( Benninganhallai ), so option is open with SWR & IDD to take  decision.

 

In the Indian context due to

In the Indian context due to lack of reliable feeder service,if multi-level options had been feasibly exhausted, then the need for other stations can arise. In other words, if KBS was a 10-storey structure (hypothetical limit on feasibility) and could physically not take more buses, then using a second option makes sense. Similarly, a 4-storey structure may be the maximum for railways. Land is always at a premium (and/or litigation) and leads to higher cost (exception being unencroached govt. land like NGEF that happened to be available as they shut down).

Here are some hypothetical cases:
Let the cost of train from City Central to Yes'pura be Rs. 100 (say first 10 km), Rs. 100 (for next 20 km say to Yelahanka) and Rs. 100 to next 50 km. Assume there exists a reliable "ring" metro service. It is better to replace PRR and other planned-but-not-constructed RRs with a far-fewer lane, more sustainable and reliable on-grade metro. Then people will have less incentive to travel to Central unless it is really convenient, They will either get off at Yelahanka or at Yes'pura and catch the metro to nearest stop and walk home, go by auto or catch a bus. Again, Yelahanka or Yes'pura cannot be the terminating or origin points as there will always be people getting off at Central for better convenience.
Even with good feeder to say Satellite bus station, the cost is high for people on N., NE areas. Best for them to decide the option to use - a) ring mass transit like metro to a station on the outskirts or b) radial travel to congested central areas.
a) would be stress free and may cost less money but more time.
b) would be stressful, may cost more and may take same or less time depending on traffic.
This will ensure distribution of pressure and also lead to less confusion.

Just because other cities in India have different locations doesn't mean that they are better (in fact they are not).  Developed cities do not have the unique problems of Indian cities (high pop./density, congestion, lower income etc.) and hence cannot be emulated in toto.

Again, to summarize:
1) Provide option for multimodal transfers at stations in a ring around a major pop. center (city, metropolis etc.) but start/end at city center so that people are not shoe-horned into using restricted options for certain directions of travel.
2) Provide reliable ring and radial transportation (think kendra saarige and big10 on a bigger scale), and good feeder service to train/bus stations and last-mile, local areas.

In the current scenario, reliable feeders exist to only KBS. So, it doesn't make sense to fracture the long distance services. And, it is not a good idea to shift start/end points even if feeders did exist.


@n

For a city with 8 million & growing, I don't think it's possible to have one nucleus from where all inter-city trains & buses can originate or terminate. Take Mumbai as an example - despite it's linearity & ease with which what you desire could have been accomplished, it still has inter-city train origin points at VT, Kurla, Dadar & Bombay Central. About bus, it's even more diffuse - they start from Fort (near VT), Kurla, Bombay Central, Dadar, Matunga, Andheri & even Goregaon. The situation is no better in other cities such as Chennai, Hyderabad & even Mangalore, a smaller city, that now has two train stations, two bus stations & plans for a bigger, new one.

The focus on Majestic for all bus & train inter-changes is what has led BMTC, KSRTC,  SWR, & now BMRC fighting for space & capacity there, not to mention all the choked roads that lead to it with very serious congestion levels.

Going elevated with multi-level stations is an option that needs serious thinking in India & has been neglected for too long due to costs, no doubt, unlike overseas. Despite multi-level stations in overseas cities, most still have multiple train terminals (London has Waterloo, St.Pancras, Victoria;  NewYork has Grand Central, Penn;  etc).

I don't think there is narrow-minded thinking - Byappanahalli happened to have an NGEF that was closed down with large land parcels & with train tracks already passing through it. This provided the authorities an opportunity to develop it as a hub since traffic surveys consistently pointed in the direction of the requirement for a mass transit towards KRPuram on OMR from city center.

What has been missing is the repeated failure to develop timely mass transits that enable commuters to reach transport hubs easily & total lack of co-ordination - the example, as you mentioned, are difficulties to reach Shantinagar.

One thing is sure - all major trains (the Shatabdis, the Rajdhanis, etc) will always start & terminate at City. Byappanahalli & Yeswantapur will at best try to take the excessive load off from the city station - All commuters should not necessarily be required to pass through city - a situation should be developed where people feel it's best to use a local or suburban train or a Metro to directly & easily reach any of the transport hubs without passing through the congested city - the commuter rail is one such option & Byappanahalli could be a hub.

e) Will help decongest city

e) Will help decongest city station & makes for easier shifting of inter-city trains to terminate /start at Byappanahalli from city.

Won't this lead to confusion and more usage of resources? All residents of S., SW region of the city will have to pay more, take more time to reach Byp'halli.
This is similar to having at least 4 different bus stations for long-distance buses (KBS, Shantinagar, Satellite off Mysore Rd. and KR market) - residents will get confused let alone newcomers. It seems that the thinking is narrow-minded to cater to the population in the surrounding areas; but what about the areas opposite or not easily accessible to the re-located bus / train station? It is torturous (by bus) to reach Shantinagar from Mysore road area; much more easy to reach KBS. Ditto reaching Satellite Station from say Indiranagar. That's not including the mess called KR Market.
I have noticed this line of thinking from a few other members and think that it leads to confusion in the short-term and  lack of sustainability in the long-term. The better (cheaper in terms of land acquisition cost and time) solution would be to go multi-level. For trains, the end two tracks can begin an elevated journey say a kilometer before the city railway station and start branching off to multiple elevated lines after a given distance / rise. This will lead to better efficiency and to segregation of goods and people traffic (different turnaround times, different requirements etc.). Byp'halli can always be a major transfer point but not an origin / destination point.


@Sanjeev - Another Option

@Sanjeev - noted.

Instead of new rake interchanges between Bellandur & Chennasandra lines, what are your thoughts on a rake interchange on the line eastwards immediately after Byappanahalli & to the direct line to Banaswadi  ?

This will have advantages over the Bellandur-Channasandra rake interchange :

a) Far easier construction since the several hurdles posed by long stretches of built-up areas, land acquisition, long (elevated) track lengths, etc. would be avoided - SWR /IDD might also be inclined more towards this due to the much fewer complications.

b) Does away with the need for a large terminal station at Beniganahalli - Beniganahalli can be made only a way station on two ways (NS & EW) with minimum number of platforms.

c) Promotes Byappanahalli as a focal station since all lines /routes can converge there more easily, including the line directly from Banaswadi.

d) Circular routes would also become possible ie. City-YeswantapurHebbal-Banaswadi-Beniganahalli-Byappanahalli-Cantt-City.

e) Will help decongest city station & makes for easier shifting of inter-city trains to terminate /start at Byappanahalli from city.

f) Will help more commuter trains to be routed via Byappanahalli, which could then become a change-over station for commuters (with also Metro, BMTC & KSRTC, in addition to commuter train change-overs).

The Bellandur-Chennasandra interchange does not seem to have too many advantages other than the facility to route trains from Hosur side directly towards Yelahanka. The disadvantagea are difficult terrain for construction of tracks & a needlessly large terminal station at Beniganahalli.

The only disadvantage is that there would be no direct inter-change between Hosur & Yelahanka lines. This can also be addressed if a rake inter-change is built at Lottegollahalli (between Hebbal & Yelahanka lines).

Right Turn is now beeing used

 @Naveen : wanted to confirm if passenger trains are using the right turn to reach Byappanahalli before KRPuram

At Banswadi, right turn is being used  by all express trains starting from Yesvanthpur to Chennai ( Vasco Train ), Patna, Howrah ( Durrunto Express ), Lucknow going past goods yard..  Also their is complete electrification done from SBC- Yesvanthpur- Banaswadi- Baiyyappanahhali- K R Puram so that all north east bound & Chennai trains start with electrical engine at Yesvanthpur station only. 

@Naveen they are having severe capacity constraints at all goods yards (City, Byp & Whitefield).

From Banaswadi to Baiyyappanahalli Goods Yard is around 4.30 Kms and is electrified with single Track. Here problem is that  its single track from Baiyyappanahalli till Yesvanthpur By-pass, similarly except  KR Puram, all other stretches are single track. In any Metro cities, Indian Railway has almost 4 tracks where ever goods loading activity are carried out. Also their is ample land available with Railways for laying of new tracks. Also Yesvanthpur By-pass from Lottegolhalli - ORR - Chikbanavar ( towards Tumkur ) is not electrified dist : 4 Kms, now goods Train have to change engine at Baiyyappanahalli and then proceed to Chikbanavar, this is adding  inefficiency at Baiyyapanahhali.

 If they go straight after Banaswadi (without taking the right turn), they will by-pass Byappanahalli to reach KRPuram.

This will create problem at Beniganahalli station as Belandur - Channasandra is taking right tunrn and crossing ORR. Also station integration will not be possible.  So this is not feasible to bypass Baiyyappanahalli Goods Yard. 

As suggested by Naveen, we can have four platform at 2nd Level  at Proposed Benninganahalli station and  at ground level  can have four platforms two for crossing station and two for trains coming from Tumkur terminating at Beniganahalli station.  Metro is at right side of Baiyyappanahhali to ITPL, so their is no issue as descent to ground level  can be after crossing ORR , this will come after crossing  of Benninganhalli station

Also we should see how Harbour line at  Wadala road to Kings Circle Stations elevated track is constructed to cross Western Line and proceed towards Andheri.  Here Harbour line platform at Kings Circle is slightly away from main station ( arround 100 Mts ).

As suggested by Naveen, we should include where ORR or National Highway road is close to existing stations / proposed stations. like Hebbal & Lottegolahalli, IVC road,  Devanhalli, Dodballapur,  Marathalli, Karmelaram, Kengeri.  Alsowe should mention major Hospitals, Educational colleges, major entertainment centers like  Wonder La,  Film city near Bidadi, Lumbini Garden, Hebbal Park & J P Park Gokula. 

@ss87

I wanted to confirm if passenger trains are using the right turn to reach Byappanahalli before KRPuram. If trains use tracks on the right after Banaswadi, they have to go past goods yard & can then go past Byappanahalli before reaching KRPuram. If they go straight after Banaswadi (without taking the right turn), they will by-pass Byappanahalli to reach KRPuram.

The right turn is now being

The right turn is now being used by trains going to K.R.Puram by-passing byappanhalli

@Sanjeev - Commuter Rail Routes

Sanjeev - Okay. Can you clarify flwg :

1) The right turn after Banaswadi was being used by SWR for Byp only for goods trains for the goods yard there. Are they running passenger trains on this route now, or does SWR plan to in the future ? I had read news reports in the past that they are having severe capacity constraints at all goods yards (City, Byp & Whitefield). If bypass tracks are laid & passenger train traffic is allowed along this route, it will facilitate the Yeswantapur-Whitefield route via Byp, & also other routes.

2) On proposed Beniganahalli station 2nd level, I think one p/form for Bellandur-Channasandra route will not be enough since eventually, up & down (two) lines will become necessary. Therefore, Beniganahalli will have to be a large interchange station. Thus, sufficient width will be required for two lines (Bellandur-Channasandra) & they have to cross several internal roads in residential areas (descent to ground level can be after crossing ORR - no problem). I was doubtful if this were possible due to space constraints at Beniganahalli since Metro extension will also take place near there (towards ITPL from Byp).

Sandhurst rd stn (Mumbai) is slightly different - central line routes have to cross one another for different destinations & this is done by grade separation since platforms at VT are on opposite ends.

On the list of additional stations, it is better to include existing stations also (marked distinctly for ease of reference) instead of showing only the new stations. One new station above (NH-207) on Malur route is not necessary since Whitefield station is adjacent NH-207 - it can be marked as existing station. Rest stations all look good, but some information about inter-change facilities (to Metro, Mono or BMTC, KSRTC, crossing roads /highways, etc) can be included to make the report complete & provide fuller details.

Commuter Rail routes

@Naveen

Trains from Yesvanthpur to Bangarpet will take right diversion at Banswadi and go to Baiyyappanahalli & cross Benninganahalli  to K R Puram.

Trains from Yesvanthpur  to Hosur will go straight at Banswadi and cross the Railway Track at Benninganahalli and proceed to Hosur as YH-1 is going.

So at Benninganahalli we will have two level railway platforms. Hence SWR & IDD with BBMP & BMTC need to build  interchange station at Multi level.  One station with two platforms at ground level on existing  track running to  K R Puram to Whietfiled.  At Hosur line, we need to have  two platforms at  2nd level : for Belandur to Banswadi route and one more for Belandur to Channasandra. Total three  lines and three platforms  at 2nd level at Benninganahalli.  This third line need to be taken down to Channasandra with elevated structure proceed to Yelahanka. ( This type SWR has thought at this junction long back, but their is push from them ). Similar things  have been done in Mumbai for Harbour line  near to VT station Sandhurst Station and another place for Harbour line at  Wadala road to Kings Circle Stations.

As Naveen mentioned above,  Yelahanka to Bangarpet will have interchange at K R Puram Station and not at Benninganhallai, this is the only thing which will not have interchange at Benninganahalli. 

So Yesvanthpur to Bangarpet & Yelahanaka to  Bangarpet  can be operated as explained above for Commuter Rail as ITPL & Malur / Bangarpet need them

So I do not feel any issue with Routes as summarized by Syed, except we need to have down ramp for Belandur to Channasandra at Intersection of Benninganahalli. by crossing the outer ring road.

Regards

Sanjeev

CRS Journey began in 1983

  

The history for CRS Bangalore began  in 1983, when the first recommendations were made :

 

In 1983, the Southern Railway team recommended a 2-corridor Metro of 24 km, & also 3 commuter rail lines, and a 58-km ring railway over a 25-year period. No action followed this proposal 

See   this link.

I think the CRS journey needs to be updated accordingly. Further attention to CRS ----

In 1988, RITES was commissioned to do another transport study, with a broad coverage of roads, traffic and mass transit. The study was completed, proposing various road & traffic improvements, & also improvements on commuter rail lines, but again without much follow-up action.

In 1993, the State established another committee to look into mass rapid transit. This committee recommended the same metro project put forward by Southern Railways in 1983 and the same circular railway. Again, there was no follow up action.

Commuter Rail Routes

 

A slightly old railway tracks plan is shown below :

An extract of the area around Beniganahalli from google maps is reproduced below with rail tracks marked in red : 

From these, I think the proposal for any more rake interchanges near the proposed Beniganahalli station is going to be very difficult since the surrounding areas are already built up (BG lines would need far larger turn radius than Metro lines, as is evident from the sketches).

The flwg proposed routes might thus need changes :

2. Hosur-Byappanahalli(Benninganahalli)-Jakkur-Yelahanka-Doddballapur - No interchange between Salem line to Channasandra line. Even if there were one, & a platform could be built, it would be far removed from where lines cross one another.

5. Tumkur/Nelamangala-Yeswantpur-Byappanahalli (Benninganahalli) - Possible only if Beniganahalli station can also be developed as a terminal station, assuming a multi-level station can be built there at the intersection of lines.

6. Yeswantpur/Yelahanka-Byappanahalli (Benninganahalli)-Whitefield-Malur-Bangarpet - This can be possible if the start point is Yelahanka & if Byp /Bnghalli can be skipped, in which case, the rake interchange to KR Puram from Channasandra could be used.

 4. Yeswantpur-Banaswadi-Benninganahalli-Anekal-Hosur - Possible if it skips Byp, as is being run already now.

 

 

Generally, based on the limitations :

a) Trains coming from Kengeri side can go all the way to either Yeswantapur or to Byappanahalli ;

b) Trains from north (Yelahanka side) can go upto either Yeswantapur or Byappanahalli  ;

c) Trains from Anekal side can go upto Yeswantapur or Byappanahalli ;  &

d) Trains from east (Whitefield) side can go upto City stn or beyond towards Kengeri side.

Proposed Routes for Commuter Rail

@Syed

Its great going by  from Syed and Sathya..

Now Routes are finalized as Syed updated. I have mailed the details of Segment wise Routes Electrification needed and Doubling of Track.

Also cross check the segment wise new stations needed  as  mailed you. Hope by this weekend we will be ready with first cut report.

Regards

Sanjeev

Proposed new Station list for all the segments!

IDS, Naveen, Santsub,

I have updated the CRS wiki with list of proposed new stations for each of the segments. This is based on Sanjeev's list and some analysis from my side.

Please review the list and feel free to correct or add.

Regards,

Syed

Did your discussions with IDD

Did your discussions with IDD indicate this as feasible ? 

No, they have asked us to propose. Feasibility report/DPR will be commissioned by IDD based on this demand report. 

This is not much of a promise

True, but they have far more important promises to fulfil in commissioning commuter rail

Fine, but ......

there is a post with the 8 files created by Sanjeev, I think, which I cannot find now. I based my earlier comments re. routes from what I remembered was listed there. Any leads where these files are loaded on praja ?

Also, the routes might need a re-look if a station is not possible at Beniganahalli, as I mentioned before. I cannot start making a map until routes that we are going to propose are not clear & agreed beforehand.

The post to which we are commenting is CR wiki!

Naveen,

The main discussion post on which you and me are commenting is the CR Wiki. Anyway here is the link for the main post.

http://praja.in/en/crs-bangalore.

Syed

Where is CR Wiki ?

How do I access it ?

Wiki is the latest and updated crowdsource!

Naveen,

CRS Wiki is the updated version of information on CR. Optimized Routes are as given in the Wiki. We will have to work with Wiki and keep updating it. Sathya is compiling info from Wiki into the word version of the report.

If you have any updates pls update it in the Wiki and leave a message for Sathya and me. We will pick it up.

Syed

Need clarifications

new station to be created at the point where the Yeshwantpur-Anekal line crosses the CIty-KRPuram line

Did your discussions with IDD indicate this as feasible ? Byappanahalli close by is going to be expanded to a large inter-modal hub. Further, I think there are space constraints for a large station with many platforms at that intersection. You would need two grade-separated station platforms at each level, perpendicular to one another. Better discuss about this with SWR /IDD before moving ahead & working any further on this option.

Our discussions with IDD also indicated any effective option can be pursued

This is not much of a promise, though I agree with what you say in support for a set of tracks along NICE /PRR. NICE is going to be a tolled rd & there might not be a PRR on the west when there is already a NICE rd. Eastern part of PRR is being pursued first for this reason & they might take a decision about west PRR only much later. If only NICE remains on the western part, which I think is very likely since ORR west will also have a Monorail with a spur along Magadi rd that can be extended later upto PRR, then NICE might not permit rail tracks, given that they will lose business, akin to BETL. I'm not sure what their agreement terms are with the state govt.

Where are the final routes that are being proposed ? Any links to it or are they the same as what Syed has posted above ?

 I wonder why you mention

 I wonder why you mention Byappanahalli (Beniganahalli) everywhere

I will change it to Benninganahalli everywhere. It is a new station to be created at the point where the Yeshwantpur-Anekal line crosses the CIty-KRPuram line

Also, quoting Jakkur can be confusing

WIll use Thanisandra, it has a station code and recognised by IR but doesnt show in maps.

 expecting a totally new line to bypass city station (on the west) might be too much to expect

NICE road/PRR have provision for BRTS or trains. Our discussions with IDD also indicated any effective option can be pursued. Short term there are no issues,over the long term there arent too many stops post kengeri into the city, it will make more sense serving catchment areas along the PRR on the way into Yeshwantpur. Those getting into the city will always have metro at Kengeri.

I think we can enquire & suggest dedicated infrastructure for commuter rail - the main stations are all being expanded & if tracks /platforms can be kept separate, services can be operated with far more ease than at present.

Yes there are 2 sections for this. 3.1.5 & 3.2.3 in the above wiki. Will add these points there

Commuter rail routes

I had earlier mentioned abt the eight files that were attached as part of this project. In one of those files (the only excel file), I think Sanjeev has listed several possible routes (A through J, I think). I had referred to routes from there. The first five or six routes quoted there had this Bidadi-Anekal route in addition to another four or five that were all to start from Bidadi.

As regards routes mentioned above, I wonder why you mention Byappanahalli (Beniganahalli) everywhere - the station is clearly termed Byappanahalli, both by SWR as also BMRC. Also, quoting Jakkur can be confusing. The eastern line passes well east of Jakkur layout & only skims the periphery of Jakkur lake, far from Jakkur layout. It also has Channasandra as a station. The western line has Kodigehalli as a station. Thus, it might be better to include & quote either Kodigehalli or Channasandra to differentiate them more clearly.

(2) Hosur-Byappanahalli-Jakkur-Yelahanka-Doddballapur --- This route will have to reverse direction at Byappanahalli with present tracks.

(4) Yeswantpur-Byappanahalli-Anekal-Hosur, (5) Tumkur/Nelamangala-Yeswantpur-Byappanahalli, & (6) Yeswantpur/Yelahanka-Byappanahalli-Whitefield-Malur-Bangarpet --- Yeswantapur to Byappanahalli is currently not possible unless direction is reversed.

(7) Yelahanka-Yeshwantpur-NICE PRR /City-Kengeri-Bidadi-Ramanagara, & (8) Nelamangala-Yeswantpur-Kengeri-Bidadi-Ramanagaram --- I'm not sure we should be asking for an entirely new line along PRR - expecting a totally new line to bypass city station (on the west) might be too much to expect since city station is anyway going to be expanded substantially with the binny mill lands. Instead, I think we can enquire & suggest dedicated infrastructure for commuter rail - the main stations are all being expanded & if tracks /platforms can be kept separate, services can be operated with far more ease than at present.

Sanjeev - could you confrm above route restrictions ?

These still can be

These still can be optimized?

Yes the optimized routes are in the wiki

Naveen, Proposed routes for Commuter Rail!

Naveen,

The proposed routes for commuter rail are:

  1. Yeswantpur - Yelahanka - Devanahalli - Chickballapur
  2. Hosur-Byappanahalli(Benninganahalli) - Jakkur - Yelahanka - Doddballapur
  3. Byappanahalli-Jakkur-Yelahanka-Devenahalli-Chickballapur
  4. Yeswantpur - Byappanahalli(Benninganahalli) - Anekal - Hosur
  5. Tumkur/Nelamangala - Yeswantpur - Byappanahalli(Benninganahalli)
  6. Yeswantpur/Yelahanka - Byappanahalli(Benninganahalli) - Whitefield - Malur - Bangarpet
  7. Yelahanka - Yeshwantpur - NICE PRR/City - Kengeri - Bidadi-Ramanagara
  8. Nelamangala  - Yeswantpur - Kengeri - Bidadi-Ramanagaram 

Would appreciate your feedback on these routes. These still can be optimized?

Regards,

Syed

 revert about the

 revert about the Bidadi-Anekal "U" route ? 

Where is this route? Where did you find such a route?

All routes start in a growth center and end in the farthest commuter rail hub. This is to enable single change if somebody wants to change direction. No route should start from a growth center and end in a growth center. This principle in routing ensures we are bringing people in and taking them out of Bangalore and doesnt end up into an inter city train service which can bypass Bangalore at a later date.

Map for Commuter Rail

I will try to make a map for proposed commuter rail along with Metro routes (both phases) - need some time.

Sanjeev - can you please revert about the Bidadi-Anekal "U" route ? Can this be changed or do you still feel it should be included ?

.

.

IDS - you need some support

IDS, sad to see your call for volunteers go un-answered. No help from Narayan as well so far. Can you pass on your original schematic file (ppt?). I will try my hand at building on your effort.

Wonder what we need to do to get more people to help :)

IDS, Excellent job!

IDS,

Excellent work man. This could be the base map for further version depicting individual current/proposed routes along with marking for existing Stations and proposed new stations. I will call you and will go over the report.

Once again excellent job.

Regards,

Syed

Tried my hand at a schematic

Tried my hand at a schematic as I couldnt find one on the net. This is probably the first ever schematic map of BLR rail lines pertinent to our commuter rail proposal

I have abandoned the word CRS and using Commuter Rail instead. Keeps the terminology consistent and avoids confusion with liberal interpretation circular rail system, circumference rail system, cicumnavigation rail system, cicuitous rail system etc

CRS - Great to hear !

Hi Sanjeev /IDS /ss87,

This is great news & almost a dream beginning, making the case for CRS so much stronger !

Now that you are proposing fast trains too, some of the trains to Bidadi can be run up to Ramnagaram, & those trains running upto Ramnagaram could be run as fast trains whilst the ones terminating at Bidadi could be the slow trains on this route (CTTP has recommended CRS upto Ramnagaram).

Similarly, trains going up to Chikballapur can be fast whilst those terminating at Devanahalli could be the slow trains.

One route is a complete U-turn (Bidadi-Anekal) & might need to be dropped or re-routed.

To run so many services, dedicated infrastructure will become necessary at some stage when frequencies need to be increased & there is no reason why this cannot also be recommended.

Since we are seeking inclusion of expensive technology with smart cards & branded coaches, costs will soar & to fully justify these, urban commuters must also be included with many inter-change stations with Metro /Mono & BMTC along with the necessary commuter /pedestrian infrastructure.

Good to know that YH-1 or

Good to know that YH-1 or YH-2 are picking well. Actually one thing can be done about this Yh-1 and YH-2:

Train no. 572 leaves bangalore city at 7:15AM. Hence YH-1 can leave Yeshvantapur around the same time in the morning. Train no. 573 reaches yeshvantapur around 10:30AM. So Hy-1 can be made HB-1 and run to the city. In the evening BH-1 can depart to hosur and return to yeshvantapur as HY-1. Both city and Yeshvantapur will have a local train facility in the morning and evening to/fro Hosur in this way. 

When we do a track wise analysis in and around bangalore city we can see that:

Towards mysore continous expresses leave till 7AM after which we have the fast passenger at 7:40AM. No train after that in the peak hour and track to Bidadi doubled.

 

Towards Salem after 2677 leaves city at 6:15 there is absoultely no express trains in the peak hour so we can start one passenger from Yeshvantapur and one from city after 572 passenger leaves. 

Track to bangarpet is also free except for few expresses moving here and there-the same is a double track and some more locals can easily be run-One from Yeshvantapur to Whitefield ,another from Bidadi to whitefield and one from Yelahanka to Whitefield. 

Route No. 401 running between Yelahanka and yeshvantapur and route no. 401K between Yelahanka and Kengeri are always crowded inspite of their high frequency-an area to be exploited by railways very well. 

I have given a post about regarding the existing connectivity from certain railway stations by BMTC buses in my post "utilizing existing trains". the same may also be considered. 

Fast and Slow Trains

@ Sathya

Add the Slow and Fast Local Trains : Fast Local will stop at few important major suburban stations only  :

Chikballapur, Devanhalli, Yelahanaka, Lottegolahalli, Yesvanthpur,  Malleshawarm, Chikbanavar, Soladevanhalli, Nelamangala, Dobbspet, Kyatsandra, Dodbele, Tumakur, Hebbal, Bansawadi, Byappanahalli ( Benignaahalli ), Belandur, Karmelaram, Chandapur, Ankeal, Hosur,  Dodballapur, K R Puram, Whitefield, Malur, Bangarpet, SBC, Gnanbharati, Kengeri & Rajarajeshwari Dental / Engineering College & Bidadi

Frequency of the Fast Train should be every one  Hour.

Add following in the report

Add this information suitably in the report  : As these have major impact on the CRS

On going Railway Projects in and around  Bangalore  Ciy  / New Local Trains announced :

1. In the Railway Budget 2010,  Station up gradation : Chikballapur, Dodballapur, Devanhallai,   Yelahanka,    has been announced. as Adarsha Stations

2. In the Railway Budget 2010, Yesvanthpur Station as Multi Functional Center

3. Doubling of Track between Yesvanthpur to Yelahanka and Yelahanka to K R Puram at the cost of Rs 250 Crore,   Technical Report submitted in 2009, but Tenders are not called till now.

4. Bangalore City( SBC ) & Byappanahalli to be developed as World Class Stations with Binny MillLand and NGEF Land to be provided by State Govt

5. Bangalore City to Nelamangala Passenger Train announced in the Railway Budget 2010 yet to be started.

Add following in the report

Add this under CRS Historical journey

Long Journey of  Local Train Demand  for Bangalore City :

1. RITES has done survey during 1998  for Local Trains funded by  World Bank

2. MoS for Railways Basangouda R Patil Yatnal made some efforts for getting Bangalore  to have local train   Services in Nov’2003.

3. Karnataka Government  requested Railways to run local Trains for  BIAL airport during Mar’2008, turned down by that time Railway Minister  Mr Lalu Prasad.

4. RITES has done survey during 2007 for Local Trains for  BMLTA /  IDD department for CTTP2007 Bangalore.

5. BMLTA has started requesting  SWR to start few Local Train services  in Bangalore

6. SWR has finally agreed to start few Local Trains to Anekal /  Devanhallai, Kengeri as  per the BMLTA meeting of 14th Dec’2009

7. CM of Karnataka Shri Yeddyrappa has written letter to Railway Minister to sanction the Local Train Project with 50% project cost to be contributed by State Govt.

8. CM allocated Rs 500 Crore Budget in the March'2010 State Budget for Local Trains

YH-1 / YH-2 & YD-1 doing well/ Compare with BETL Electronic city

Fundamentally lack of awareness & information. I struggled to find the timings of the lone YH1 for our trip.

Even after  lack of information from the SWR / IDD,  services of YH-1/ YH-2 & YD-1  has picked up during last month. My observation & inputs from others, specifically Hosur segment is operating  more then 50% capacity ( 250 People using in one direction ) within two months of starting. Even starting timings at Yesvanthpur are very odd, without feeder services &  no publicity, this is really good,  my estimation is that within next 2-3 months Hosur segment will start operating at full capacity.

Similarly YD-1 to Devanhalli has improved now, even though timings are of no use to any  one. 

Take the case of BETL  from Silk board to Hosur elevated road is operating at 10% capacity only even after 6 months of  inauguration & investment of  Rs 700 crore and lot of  publicity  from Company,  State & Center, we are very much comfortable on this performance,  but when it comes to  CRS every one wants to finish the  concept at discussion stage only & now its more then 10 years  discussion is going on????? 

Imagine if this elevated stretch is actually used for Local Train / METRO connecting Chandapur junction on Hosure segment to Silk Board,  this would have changed traffic pattern on Housr road.

CTTP had detailed flwg CRS

CTTP had detailed flwg CRS routes in phase-1

CTTP routes are using the city segment which is crowded. Except the ramanagara & Bangarpet segment the routes we have chosen have negligible traffic, even in these 2 routes, some services can be rolled into the CRS umbrella, new signaling with smarter block sizes etc can optimize this further. Classification of interstates trains into rapid and CRS into stop trains can optimize the station stoppage times leaving the smaller stations to be covered by CRS. The interstate rapids can pick them up at the nearest CRS interchange

 feel it would be more realistic to choose the many urban segments (those not going to be covered by Metro or Mono)

That segment is mostly covered by the YH1/HY1 that is already plying. Yeshwantpur, Kengeri, Whitefield, yelahanka all will have coverage via metro mono HSRL albeit through different catchment areas. YH1 reaches 12 lakh people at a minimum. Even 25% of the people using it can give you 3 lakh commuters per day. Excellent feeder network can double it easily over the long term. Stations now in North Bangalore can establish connections as it is an emerging micro market for housing

Commuter Rail is not a short term fix like many other solutions. It helps build density along the route by being in existence. All train projects across the world are long gestation. ROI is not counted in months. Mumbai locals did not become lifelines overnight. Today lines are built before building townships. The harbour line for example has stops around key commercial centers. So we need to think forward integration. World over people choose housing around high frequency train services. 

They were in small

They were in small percentages of available capacity

Fundamentally lack of awareness & information. I struggled to find the timings of the lone YH1 for our trip. Unless the 10 rupees was the only appeal I wouldnt take a risk trying to board this one. Timings was nowhere available until someone posted on the forum. I have asked around my office and nobody knows such a thing is plying. A small percentage read about this in the news. I dont know after that trip if it is plying regularly if not who can tell it is not going to come today or is going to be late. There are no alternates around the station and there is no next train if one is not coming. Information is the key and will come only with infrastructure for the same

Secondly, as you can see form the data collected close to 40% of the wards between Benninganahalli & Yeshwantpur do not have local station or a feeder to nearest station. This is all commuters lost from right under the nose. So the usage is mostly from Yeswantpur & Banaswadi nobody in between. The rest of the route falls in the lucrative IT route which needs frequency and reliable last mile even before abandoning the alternate.

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