Why not extend Namma Metro to BIAL ?

But I think the major problem is raising the funds for constructing this link. BMRCL is mostly state funded and this model becomes difficult for connecting BIA.

If we are going for a BOT for this rail link, as it happened with BIA, concessions need to be provided to the builder..which will include high ticket prices and exclusivity..thats the reason the option to use the exisiting IR rail tracks was dumped..

This line should not be seen as a exclusive train..instead it should be a metro line that starts from MG road but have more stops than the current planned Hebbal & Yelahanka. We will need stops at mekhri circle and in between Hebbal and Yelahanka.

This will promise the ridership and also address the affordability..hope the new govt decides well on this!

Devesh Sirji, request you to kindly take this up with deciding folks..also tell them that a new petrol cess can collect money they want..as we did earlier for BMRCL!

Seating:

I am for a exclusive train (MG road to BIA), but to have stops 3 more stops on the way. MG road->Mekhri circle->Hebbal->Sahakar Ngr ->Yelahanka ->BIA .Passengers starting from MG road stn/BIA will always have seats as these are the starting points and moving heavy luggages should not be difficult. 

Checkins:

BIA boasts of fast checkins and automated checkins. Nowadays airlines are issuing e-tickets and doing online/tele checkins..I do not understand why we need checkin counters at train stations!

Baggag scan:

Its arguable that this needs to be done at the airport only..exclusive train or not..theres no way to ensure that there wont be a breach on the train!

We are a thickly populated city and it would be a waste to have a superfast exclusive costly train..instead it can be a fast and serve bigger population! Also, taking it through Ypr might not be a good option..that line is anyway going to peenya and think it should cater that stretch exclusively..for the weary workers who want to return home fast after a long day at work..

Cost

Superfast trains need 4000 crores to be put up..fast trains will be much more affordable!

http://www.cdgexpress.equipement.gouv.fr/en/worldwide/list check the link for airport trains around the world..check the Narita train in Tokyo..This is to be considered as Tokyo's population is comparable!

I was thinking about this topic for sometime now, here is my take,

Avoid replication of Bagagge handling infrastructure - Its a colossal waste to have seperate bagagge handling infrastructure replicated in the dedicated rail link as it means adding manpower, equipment like forklifts, Xray machines, lugagge boxes for efficient loading and unloading. There is also potential for misplaced bagagge since sorting by Airline is going to be a big problem. Thinking about liasion with Airlines by the Airport link personnel for bagagge deposit gives me jitters.
Only other alternative is to allow passengers collect lugagge themselves at the airport, which will work itself into inordinate delays while bagagge unloading. Another solution is to create counters at the Aiport for bagagge collection and that has its own problems.

Agreed that Baggage handling at entry points such as BRV grounds, Hebbal gives a stress-free commuite, but what will a passenger in say, Malleswaram do? - take the metro/car upto Hebbal and drop his bagagge off? - he still did have to handle his bagagge upto Hebbal, so whats the point?
Instead, if the Airport link can connect strategic points of the metro network sans bagagge handling, it will be a practical solution.

Here is how it could be potentially done,
a. Interconnect strategic metro points enroute from MG Road to BIAL. A very preliminary list includes Cantt Sta, Mekhri Circle, Hebbal, Sahakar Nagar, Yelehanka. These interconnects can be using passenger walkways between Metro and Airport Link, seperated by a couple of hundred metres at max.
Regardless of who implements this project or differences in guage used etc., this would work effectively.

b. Let passengers handle Baggage - Just facilitate by building easy access using escalators, elevators, travellators etc. Users will resort to using private vehicles if bagagge handling becomes cumbersome, so provide a midway solution. This has been the norm in pretty much many countries. I am hearing of a bagagge handling solution proposed by a link provider for the first time, or maybe I havent seen enough.

c. Provide a sense of bagagge security - Mark coaches based on traffic pattern and allocate seats in coaches as per boarding point. This will esnure minimum movement of passengers from and to coaches that contain passengers boarding from say MG Road.

d. Use effective coach Design - Seperate coaches into two logical sections. One section contains seat facing the opposite direction in which the train is travelling, while the other section faces the direction in which the train is travelling. Each end of a coach should contain bagagge bays which are very easily visible from half-way down the coach, thus ensuring that bagagge would always be within eye sight range. This also prevents passengers from taking bagagge into the seating area and avoids inconveniencing others.

This addresses following points,
1. Integration of Metro Infrastructure with Airport Link
2. Efficient Use of Infrastructure
3. Convenience of usage
4. Faster than Metro

On a tangent, if the implementing agencies can bury their differences and come together on a common platform, then a simple solution would be to run dedicated "Airport Express" coaches from Peenya, Jayanagar and Byatarayanapura and have them converge at BRV grounds, where they can be delinked from their engines, linked up to form a single train and then run to the Airport. Passengers donot need to alight at BRV grounds and hence are not inconvenienced. The same logic can be followed on the down link. Ofcourse, this will only work if the Airport express and Metro can use the same guage.

1)  Metro station entry/s in Delhi do not permit passengers to carry luggage other than light hand bags, shopping bags, brief cases, etc. as a security measure & I believe Bangalore metro will follow the same security model – hence the need for baggage scanning gear if air travelers are to use stations & board a Metro train, if one is planned.

2)  The coach design in normal Metro is as required for a people mover (typically few seats & most standing) & not suitable for people with heavy luggage. It is for this reason that airport-to-city buses have large spaces for stowing luggage – either underside or within the coach on racks. Thus, the coach design for a rail-link to airport will have to take this into consideration.

3)  Metro phase-2 (as per CTTP) is from EC to Yelahanka via Nagavara & Tirumanahalli & will not pass Mekhri circle & Hebbal. There is no Monorail proposal yet that plans to connect Mekhri Circle. Hebbal is covered, but from Peenya side on ORR, & not through Mekhri circle.

4)  Most airlines offer tele-check-in (typically, frequent-flyers without check-in luggage) & city baggage check-in at their city offices for business & higher classes. In the case of BIA rail link, it was earlier planned that additionally, remote city check-in (including baggage check-in) would be available for all passengers who wish to check-in their luggage, irrespective of class, as an additional convenience due to the long distance – I am not sure if this is still valid, though. 

5)  There may be air travelers who might want to check-in their luggage in the city, but might not want to use the rail link & may prefer to travel by road – this will also need to be considered if a remote check-in facility is being considered by BIAL.

Vasanth,

You have hit it right in the bull's eye - absolutely right !

BRT is the only sensible & practical solution for BIAL in the near (& long) term & should have been explored much more seriously. According to Devesh, it had been rejected as "allocating lanes would be a waste since there were not enough buses that will pass through it".

True, that may be so now. How about a few years down the line ? I think our decision makers are outright stupid & think about 'the next few months' & not 'the next few decades' as they should be doing - this is why all transport & road infrastructure is crumbling, & has been lagging behind by several years, if not decades. Their support has only been for private vehicle owners - this was a good chance to start changing this 'contagious' habit of using private vehicles, but alas ! We seem to have lost it.

The BIAL BRT corridor could have been a great opportunity to use the Bogota model for development - "Put the road with transport first, & development will follow behind". Well, development has already commenced at BIAL - but where is the transport ???

After so many experiences, they still refuse to learn. If you do not allocate Bus lanes right now when there is ample road width & lower traffic volumes, it is going to be very difficult & impossible to get it later as vehicle owners & motorists have a funny way of imagining that the road belongs to them & they cannot get off it since it has always been their turf !

Big ticket items such as Hi-Speed Rail, Metro, Elevated roads, get a lot more attention than simple, much less expensive & practical solutions such as the BRTS - what a shame !

How about a Hybrid solution that uses BRT in the initial stages and gives us time to integrate Phase 1 and parts of Phase-2 Metro infrastructure with the Airport rail link ?

1. BRT as Phase 1 of Airport link - Run BRT based Volvo buses from all corners of the city to provide efficient and fast access to BIAL. Let the idea sink-in that an Airport link doesnt necessarily mean fast rail access and it will help the planners and implementers buy time, maybe till 2011.

2. "Metro Airport express" as part of Metro Phase 2 - Work with Namma Metro to create a semi-dedicated route to the Airport by building parts of Phase-2 infrastructure ahead of schedule, so that the rail link to the Airport is not exclusive to the Airport and Metro Phase-2 will use parts of the Airport link when ready.

In the picture above, the route from Cantt. to Yelahanka can be re-used by Namma Metro as part of Phase-2 EC to Yelehanka alignment.

Run 2 or more Airport coaches coaches at any given time from Byappanahalli, Mysore Road Terminal, R.V. Road Terminal and Yeshwantpur, all converging at BRV Grounds. Then at BRV Grounds they all join to form a single Metro Airport express and run on the Airport link corridor to BIAL via Yelahanka.

This avoids cost of redundant infrastructure and also adds convenience of connectivity from any part of the city.

I tend to agree with you bangalore-guy.
Airport rail link should not be 100% exclusive, which is why I have proposed that it be implemented ahead of Metro Phase-2, with maximal re-use by Metro.

But, there are and will be people who do not want to be bothered by frequent stops and a long journey to the airport, which is easily addressed by using an semi-exclusive Airport express with limited stops. Maximum benefits can be drawn from optimal sharing of costly infrastructure.

I guess the same applies more-or-less to a BRT solution as well; Experts please comment.

Consultation Paper No. 09/2015-16 Determination of Development Fee in respect of the Metro Connectivity Project for Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai

http://aera.gov.in/upload...

Following need to be deliberated and how Govt can burden only Air Passengers for all reasons and wants Air fares to come down ???

1. For future cost of cosntruction, why present air passenger need to  pay : For future construction of METRO, why present air passenger who is flyoing or landing need to pay. When he is not even using presently.

2. METRO to AIrport is not exclusive for Air PAssenger :

METRO connectivity will improve transport to Airport. This will be used  by different segment of citizens who travell to Airport : Example AIr Passengers, Crews, Ground handling staff, visitors to airport, Air line staff, people who work in business centers, and so on. So the METRO connectivity is not exclusive for the AIr PAssengers.

3. Other Airports,  Air Passengers are not burdened : In case of Hyderabad, Calcutta, Chennai, Airport ,  connectivity by METRO or Rail is taken care by Central and state govt

4. METRO is urban Transport :   As such METRO which is funded by MOUD and state govt., METRO implementation to Airport will reduce traffic congestion on Mumbai Roads, hence city is getting benifited directly. Hence its more logical for MOUD and Maharastra state govt to fund the  METRO connectivity to AIrport  Rs 518 Crore and recover same from   differential ticke pricing for the AIrport METRO station.

Interesting to see How GOK  has ensured all projects of public transport are suffered.

With 9 years,  still we are debating   what will be good for airport as mass transport ???