Finally CM of Chief Minister of Karnataka has taken time and written letter to Ministry of Railways - India on 12th Feb'2015 for Bangalore Suburban Namma Railu - Bangalore suburban rail Lets hope with MP and Minister meeting Railway Minister, Suburban Rail should get clearance as DPR for the Suburban Rail is submitted 
d to 
DULT / GOK
CM of Karnataka Govt requesting Railway Minister to clear the Suburban Rail Proposal
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Finally Bangalore MPs and Mayor requesting Railway minister
Thanks MP and Minister AnanthKumar and P.C.Mohan for taking out time and getting all those people for the meeting with Railway Minister. Lets see how far we will get the going for Bangalore Suburban Rail. Also thanks to CM of GOK writing letter to Railway Minister for Suburban Rail.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/461695/cm-bats-city-suburban
The demand for a suburban rail network for Bengaluru has got a boost with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah writing to the railway minister requesting him to include the project in the railway budget he is set to present on February 26.
The letter dated February 12, addressed to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, a copy of which is with Deccan Herald, reads, “The proposal for (a) suburban railway has been with the railways from October 28, 2013.
The implementation of the suburban rail system will not only improve the connectivity between Bangalore and the towns in its hinterland but will also help in reducing dependence on personal vehicles and would contribute to growth along the transit corridor. I request you therefore to consider our proposal positively and communicate the approval of the railways at the earliest to this much-anticipated project. I hope that this project would be included in the ensuing (sic) railway budget.”
The letter further states that Rites Ltd, a multi-disciplinary consultancy in transport, infrastructure and related technologies under the ministry of railways, had submitted a feasibility report on the project, recommending its implementation at an estimated cost of Rs 8,759 crore. The letter adds that the Karnataka government had already formed a Bangalore Suburban Rail Corporation Ltd (BSRCL) to enable the implementation of the project and would contribute half of the project cost.
Interestingly, the letter has been sent after activists and non-profit organisations launched a campaign urging the government to take up the matter with the railways. As part of the campaign, 50 letters each were written to the BSRCL which is under the Directorate of Urban Land Transport, the chief minister, the chairman of the railway board, Union ministers D V Sadananda Gowda and Ananth Kumar, Bangalore Central MP, P C Mohan, PWD Minister H C Mahadevappa, former Union ministers M Veerappa Moily and K H Muniyappa, Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake and Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Petition to PM
One of the activists, Sanjeev Dyamannavar, even sent a petition to the Prime Minister’s Office which referred it to the railway board for appropriate action. It must be mentioned that in February 2014, the railway board and the general manager of South Western Railway, Hubballi, had corresponded on the proposed project, seeking clarifications. In March 2014, the SWR gave its consent to the railway board to go ahead with the Bengaluru suburban rail as per a Rites report.
Prior to that in January 2014, Bangalore South MP and now Union minister Ananth Kumar had requested the then railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge to approve the proposal on priority. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/461695/cm-bats-city-suburban-train.html
Given the current political
Given the current political ecosystem, I feel it sub-urban rail will get passed this time!
- wgwwd : (w)e (g)et (w)hat (w)e (d)eserve...so look at yourself first
But sadly not even a mention
But sadly not even a mention of Namma Railu in budget. Another year to wait? Or will it be passed via "Sugrivajne"(ordinance route?)..
- wgwwd : (w)e (g)et (w)hat (w)e (d)eserve...so look at yourself first
What ails CRS?
Commuter Railway Service for Bengaluru – What ails the project?
“Where there is a will there is a railway, where there is no will there is a survey”
Commuter Rail Services are trains which run on the tracks of Indian Railways around and thru the city of Bengaluru connecting surrounding suburban growth centers of Tumkur, Doddballapur, Chikballapur, Bangarpet, Anekal & Ramangaram and the areas in between. These trains traverse approx. 400 kms thru some developed & developing growth areas offering massive potential to do Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and offer on time & reliable connectivity for the people who live & work in these regions. In Bengaluru it can even connect the Airport from all these places. What more can one ask for in terms of connectivity? But alas simple solutions are not worthy of consideration for governments which rely on showing eye candy to the electorate in the hope of charming them like a kid in a toy shop.
This idea has been a success world over & serves as backbone even in Indian cities. The best examples being Mumbai & Chennai which have suburban services running for a long time. It was mooted for Bengaluru almost 25 years ago and included in various master plans & mentioned in CTTP as an imperative, but yet nobody seemed to be bothered. Praja RAAG dusted off the cobwebs in 2009 and in association with Prof Sitaram of CiSTUP made a call to action report in 2010. After much lobbying and 5 Years hence various govts have come and gone but haven’t had the will to make it happen.
Another railway budget has come & gone from the “acche din” govt. But there has been no mention of Commuter Railway for Bengaluru. The biggest beneficiary of these services is to the people of the state, hence the blame for this is not with the center but with the state govt. So what did they not do
Considering all these issues, one can safely conclude that unless the state government gets its act together and wants to make it happen this is going to be a long road. I don’t even want to go into how it is putting unsustainable road widening & flyover building programs when the rest of the world is tearing it down. If we don’t learn the right lessons we will head the China way, which for some strange is being looked upon as a successful “development” story. Its up to the people to realize the value of this mode of transport & make the representation to the state government. Maybe its time they learnt a lesson.
Blame it on Namma Metro and SWR Lobby!
IDS,
There is nothing wrong with CRS as the proposal itself. What ails is the will, intent and vision to plan and implement. You have rightly listed the right 'POLITICAL' reasons of not doing anything on ground for CRS. These are just thee surface manifestations that we all could see. But there are 2 other very important players which has and are playing crucial roles to see that projects like CRS doesn't see the day.
SWR - It is the bad luck of Karnataka that SWR is infested with officers who hardly have any plan or vision to improve the railways in Karnataka. In last 10-20 years except for few additions/improvements, there is hardly any progress/growth of railways in the state. Every time you bring up commuter rail, there straight face answer is - WE DO NOT HAVE CAPACITY. In these 5 years of Praja campaigning, we hear this every other month. But in those 5 years, count how many new trains were introduced? About 40+ trains have been introduced.
For railways or SWR, the incentive is to DO NOTHING. If SWR/Railways had some interest, they would have some skeletal services connecting the surrounding towns in morning and evening. It doesn't require land acquisition or thousands of crorers as the investment. All it needed was upgrading the signaling system (which had budget approvals since 2010) and tweaking of long distance train timings to accommodate skeletal services.
Now in the pursuit of hiding their incompetence, they are thwarting any plans to even observe a monthly ritual like RAIL DAY. Deferring of RAIL DAY observance due to lack of co-operation from SWR and railways is not coincidence.
Namma Metro - Is the biggest hurdle not only for CRS but for all other public transport infrastructure projects in Bangalore. It all started with previous BMRCL chief who in the zeal of showcasing Namma Metro as the best thing to have happened to Bangalore thwarted each and every project that came on the table. Since BMRCL came into existence, its chief became the important veto power stake holder in deciding the infrastructure projects for Bangalore. In that pursuit he was very successful in brainwashing both the bureaucracy and the politicians that until Namma metro is done, GOK should not take up any other project. The result is, even with change of governments, the people in govt believes that investment for Namma metro will get impacted if other projects are taken up. They were given the perfect alibi - Metro Iday Alla, Beray Yake Beku.
It did not occurred to these dumb heads to ask whether Namma Metro will fulfill the needs of Bangalore for present and next 20-30 years?
Here is a reality check.
There are no project planned or proposals that are in pipeline to serve those 3.5 to 4 million trips. With Metro only strategy, we are looking at adding 4 million trips by private vehicles in next 15 years.
Let the BMRCL chief, DULT, IDD, UDD and Ministers at GOK answer if this isn't their plan for Bangalore?
But in all this the actual blame lies at the door steps of we the citizens who are bearing this ordeal every day and still do not say/do to change something basic as asking their political representatives for improving their daily commute conditions. This will contonue until we start knocking on doors of MLAs and MPs from the city.
Why not go for a dharna with
Why not go for a dharna with help of AAP Karnataka? Since this project is more of Aam Admi type, I am AAP may pick this up(specially if they plan to run for upcoming BBMP "match" :)
- wgwwd : (w)e (g)et (w)hat (w)e (d)eserve...so look at yourself first
CM asks Suresh Prabhu to clear Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called on Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and sought the Centre’s in-principle approval for the implementation of ambitious Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project.
The Chief Minister also urged the Union Railway Minister to ensure Central participation in the Bangalore Suburban Rail Co Ltd and said the project when implemented will be a ``real game changer’’ for the State.
Submitting a detailed memorandum submitted to Prabhu, the Chief Minister said the State Government has commissioned a feasibility study by RITES which has clearly demonstrated that the implementation of Bangalore sub-urban rail project on the available rail infrastructure.
The cost of providing connectivity is estimated to be Rs 8500 crore, Siddaramaiah said.
He explained that the proposed Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project would have a capacity to move 25 lakhs people, and hence would be a game changer. It would mark a major step towards fulfilling the long-cherished dream of people of Bengaluru and its hinterland, he said.
RITES has submitted the detailed project report after consultation with many stakeholders including Railways. It would be shared shortly with the Centre, the Chief Minister said.
Pointing out Bengaluru’s contribution to the SGDP, Siddaramaiah said the Centre’s clearance of the project would mark a major step towards fulfilling the long-cherished dream of people of Bengaluru and its hinterland.
The suburban rail project would greatly reduce the congestion in Bengaluru and enable the development of many satellite towns around the city.
While the Centre has already invested in suburban rail projects in Mumbai and Hyderabad, the Chief Minister said Bengaluru has been left out and urged the Union Railway Minister to set right the issue.
Bengaluru contributes almost 40 per cent of software exports which is one of the major sources of foreign exchange earnings for the country, he said and also urged the minister to give Central clearance for other pending railway projects of the State.
http://www.daijiworld.com...
Why Railway Minister not able to sanction for Bangalore and Railway Board has such infliuence that Railway Minister can not do any thing ???
As already SWR Hubli and SWR Bangalore have given their in prinicple approval and its only railway board which is sleeping on this because they are not affected by Bangalore Traffic