'Commuter rail service for city still in limbo'

Karnataka blamed for railway miseries

 In case of suburban train services, a proposal has still to be cleared by the office of the chief minister. The railway board’s approval can only be sought once the state government clears it. There is also a dearth of land for the project. The feasibility of the proposed project will be examined after the budget - KH Muniyappa

We agree, now what?

I guess our CM should let the IR does what they can do to provide extra trains for passenger services

I would prefer if they approached it as a total solution with a reliable & predictable timetable and accompanying accessibility infrastructure. This 1 or 2 trains here and there will cause problems in rolling it up organizationally later on and will come with existing inadequate last mile connectivity with other stakeholders not participating in the effort. Total solution requires Govt to show committment to the effort. 

BTW our CM has not said or done anything in this regard let alone agree to anything. No formal request apparently has gone from the CM's office to the Railways despite the chief secretary promising to take this up with the railway board last year itself

Sanjeev, IDS, Naveen,

I fully understand your anguish and frustration with GOK. I can clearly see that you are being forced to go in circles. Let me bare some facts which was revealed to me recently from sources. That's reason I have given the above title "Competing agendas, Forces and circumstances". I am stating this with at most responsibility and personal authority.

We are up against the mighty, powerful and most importantly the key decision makers. Even after 6 months since the first formal event at CiSTUP, we are struggling to get a simple appointment with CM, which tells the sordid story of how decision making works here. It is not that the NR team is not pursuing any efforts in that direction. I can personally vouch for the tireless efforts that the NR team has put so far to reach out the various political leaders, MPs, MLAs, officials etc. Since August 2010, it is a relentless struggle to get to the right people. It is no less than multi-miilion dollar project of a private enterprise.

Competing Agendas

I don't have to elaborate on competing agendas here. For some reasons CRS is being considered and projected as a competing service to Metro, HSRL etc, wheres in reality it is NOT.

CRS is not in competition with Metro, HSRL, BMTC, KSRTC or even the private service operations. It is rather an wonderful low cost complimentary service to each of the listed service. But due to various reasons it is being looked and projected as a competing service.

Competing Forces

Even those public representatives specially who are ruling and supporting them, who in private fully endorses the CRS project, but officially for political and their own personal reasons are not willing to take that extra step to push the GOK to give its nod. These are very well educated and more intellectual than most of us here on Praja. Even an educated minister in GOK refuses to lend that extra help citing ministerial jurisdictions. That speaks volume about the ministerial fiefdoms and turfs that they need to protect. That smack of all the claim of 'Public Service' that they are doing and all for 'Public Benefits' only. The Officials and Bureaucrats in our country are subservient to the political class, therefore unless there is political blessings they can hardly do anything.

A journalistic source has revealed to me that transport lobby which has interests both in leasing buses to BMTC and as well as running moffasil services to the towns in CRS plan, are also in play to thwart this project. I wish this is not true. But in our setup, one can not rule out these possibilities.

Competing Circumstances

Even the current circumstances seems to lined up against CRS. Different parties rule at Center and State. This looks real, but looking at HSRL approvals, even this can be overcome if the GOK/State has the will. Indian Railway finances are in doldrums and perfect excuse for center to not to consider this. So ball is thrown into state court. Current prevailing political circumstances in state are much more against than any of the above. Due to various groupings in the ruling and opposition dispensations, it is hard to reach out to those who has the authority to put the 'Approval' seal.

Therefore, one can only hope against hope.

-Syed

 transport lobby which has interests both in leasing buses to BMTC and as well as running moffasil services to the towns in CRS plan, are also in play to thwart this project. 

If indeed there is a bus transport lobby, this would mean Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai & Hyderabad which have commuter rail as do the many many cities across the world must have collapsed the entire bus transport industry. Fat chance. This way the entire railway system is a threat to the bus industry. Are they asking for the railways to stop its services to Chennai, Hyderabad other metros & towns in Karnataka? If govt cant deal with lobbies like this they can forget about sustainable transportation & transit oriented development, blah blah. All the conferences they go to is a waste of time on tax payers money. 

Given a choice any lobby like the 2G one or the petrol/kerosene one will want to have the cake, eat it & have enough to paste it on their posteriors. Balance needs to be struck by the govt. I am sure they are not expecting 100% modal share for bus transport! it doesnt happen anywhere in the world. I will repeat, there is enough population to go around for all modes of transport in the next 30, 50, 100 years. I dont see why they are getting worked up over 1,2 & 5 year gains

So what happens after people get off at our terminal stations they dont dissappear into thin air do they? The CRS terminal stations arent the end of the world, there are towns & cities that need to be connected beyond. Dont the bus operators have an opportunity there? That is how the network will reach the hinterland. Otherwise poverty elimination will remain in text books & WB dole outs.

BTW, I am wondering how come this comparision is not applied to HSRL which will cannibalize the BMTC Vayu Vajra service and the metro which will take away share from BMTC? Double standards? It is the responsibility of the govt to prevent lobbies from screwing up the future of the city else our elected reps are no better than petty businessmen striking deals instead of setting a course for our future as leaders

Quoting BMRC MD Sivasailam who said famously at one of our meets "Where there is a will there is a railway, where there is no will there is a survey" and I must add - tennis ball matches on the issue

transport lobby which has interests both in leasing buses to BMTC and as well as running moffasil services to the towns in CRS plan, are also in play to thwart this project.

Leasing of buses by BMTC has never come for discussion in Praja if I remember correctly. If this is true all the discussions about BMTC privatization etc. becomes invalid! Then we can actually blame the problems of BMTC on private interests rather than asking for privatization. One more question would be if BMTC is leasing buses then why are they leasing out again (if contracting is included).

Also the bus operators running buses to Kolar, Yelahanka etc. would not be happy with CRS.

IDS,

The words seems verbatim from the report.

"..."In a recent letter to Banerjee, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has stated that the objective of the commuter rail system is to disperse the habitation from densely-populated central city areas to destinations outside like Anekal, Malur, Devanahalli, Tumkur and Bidadi.

“The commuter rail system will be integrated into other Mass Rapid Transport System like Metro, Mono Rail, High Speed Rail System, Bus Rapid Transport System and would help in bringing people to the central business district in one hour”, Yeddyurappa stated in the letter, copies of which were released to the press on Thursday..."

Seems at last seeing light at the end of the tunnel!

 Delegation to visit Delhi demanding circular train for Bangalore

It is a long-pending proposal from the state government that we want the railway minister Mamata Banerjee to sanction in the budget. The project needs an allocation of Rs500 crore and will go a long way in de-congesting traffic, Ananth Kumar said

On operation of commuter rail on the existing railway track, South Western Railway's Bangalore Divisional Railway Manager Sudhanshu Mani said Bangalore City and Yeshwanthpur Stations were oversaturated by long-distance trains. Hardly is there any space to accommodate commuter rails, he said.

Source: The Hindu

@ Jenny & Pranav

Any one has participated from Praja on the BCIC Urban Infrastructure and Connectivity to Bangalore

Its as usual same song played by SWR.  Bangalore division is stands very low on comparrision of  efficiency &  facility with other zones.  It does not have any EMU rakes &  few DEMU rakes owns.  During last  few years,  they have not added any tracks or platforms either at Yesvntpur or Biyyappanahalli station, even though they have surplus land at these places,  but keep on crying about land at City Station.  Tracks within Bangalore city limits are still single & no serious efforts r made by SWR on this.  This is only big city station  not having any escalators even after sanction. 

I request  SWR sing better song next time.

To facilitate  operation of commuter rail on the existing railway track along  Bangalore City and Yeshwanthpur Stations the long-distance trains on this line can be terminated at  Yeshwanthpur.  Commuter rail will act as connectivity to these  long-distance trains passengers  to other parts of Bangalore.  "Where there is a WILL there is a way".

Zonal Rail Users' Consultative Coordination Committees of Southern and South Western Railways, Prakash Mandoth, said there was need for new train services that include superfast train from Bangalore to Mumbai; daily train to Shirdi or Aurangabad; trains to Jammu, Varanasi, Amritsar, Dehradun and Indore; daily service to Belgaum; Garib Rath to Solapur to cater to the Hyderabad Karnataka people; direct train to Karwar; Hubli–Hyderabad service; Hubli–Bangalore circular train service via Londa, Madgaon, Karwar, Mangalore, Hassan, Bangalore and Hubli, and commuter rail service for Bangalore.

Cortesy - http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/17/stories/2011021757930400.htm

Its good to see that ZRUCC have taken up the issue with SWR for Commuter Rail for Bangalore.

Our MP's should ensure that this Commuter Rail gets sanction in the Railway Budget 

@ravichander,

Coming Railway budget is only few days away. With only 7 days to go, there is not much can be done at this stage as the lobbying for Railway budget is done by Dec/Jan.

Campaign for CRS is going to continue and there is lot to do.  If you read recent blogs on CRS, you will notice Sanjeev/IDS/Naveen has been working relentlessly on this.

Do join the team and help with what ever you can.