Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project Faces Land Hurdles Despite ₹2,659 Crore Spend, Railways Push for Faster Execution
Bengaluru/New Delhi: The much-awaited Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP), aimed at transforming city commuting, is facing significant delays due to slow land acquisition, even as ₹2,659 crore has already been spent on the project.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a reply in the Lok Sabha, highlighted that the 148-km suburban rail network is under implementation at a total sanctioned cost of ₹15,767 crore. The project is being executed by Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE), with joint funding from the Centre, State, and debt financing.
A key concern flagged is the slow pace of land acquisition. Out of the required 57 acres for one of the major corridors, only 7.8 acres have been acquired so far, significantly impacting project timelines. Railways is actively coordinating with K-RIDE and the Karnataka government to resolve these bottlenecks.
The project consists of four major corridors designed to decongest Bengaluru’s traffic and provide a reliable suburban rail network:
Corridor 1 (Sampige): KSR Bengaluru City to Devanahalli (41.4 km), where alignment plans are approved and land acquisition is underway.
Corridor 2 (Mallige): Baiyyappanahalli to Chikkabanavara (25.01 km), where land acquisition has been completed and construction activities are progressing.
Corridor 3 (Parijaata): Kengeri to Whitefield (35.52 km), currently under land acquisition and utility shifting stages.
Corridor 4 (Kanaka): Heelalige to Rajankunte (46.25 km), where progress is slow due to pending land acquisition, with limited work underway.
Officials stated that delays are primarily due to challenges in acquiring private land and transferring state-owned land, which are critical for project execution.
Despite these hurdles, work has begun on multiple fronts, including station construction and shifting of signalling and electrical utilities in certain corridors.
The suburban rail project is seen as a crucial solution to Bengaluru’s worsening traffic congestion, offering a faster and more efficient alternative to road transport and complementing the existing metro network.
Railways officials emphasised that continuous coordination meetings between K-RIDE and railway authorities are being held to fast-track the project and address pending issues.
Once completed, the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project is expected to significantly ease daily commuting for lakhs of passengers, marking a major leap in the city’s urban transport infrastructure.
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