After Metro Rail it’s LRT for the city

While part of the city is getting ready to welcome the Metro Rail, another could soon offer commuters travel by an elevated Light Rail Transit (LRT) system to beat the traffic on the roads. The government has decided to opt for the LRT on the 40 km stretch from Hebbal to JP Nagar and from Peripheral Ring Road to the toll gate on Magadi Road, based on a study conducted by Capita Symonds, a UK based property and infrastructure consultancy firm, hired by the Infrastructure Development Department to help it make up its mind between a monorail and light rail on this route.
CTTP 2007 had recommended either a monorail or an LRT system for four corridors spread over 60 kms. Two corridors stretching over 20 km will be covered by Metro Rail Phase II and the remaining 40 km, from Hebbal to JP Nagar and from Peripheral Ring Road to Toll Gate on Magadi Road, will be served by the Light Rail Transit system. The state government is currently working on the Option Report to finalise the technical details of the LRT project. This will be followed this up with a detailed project report (DPR) that will be given to Capita Symonds to prepare.

Bangalore Metro UG

Bangalore's expressway project stuck in Gridlock

Construction of the rest of expressway has been stalled for 16 yrs

Driving from Bangalore to Mysore in an hour’s time is still an elusive dream due to a project stalled by accusations of a land grab and a faulty MoU.

How much time does it take to build an expressway between two cities 140 kilometres apart? In the case of the Bangalore-Mysore expressway, the answer is an incredible sixteen long years, and counting.

In the gridlocked capital of Karnataka, the 14-km drive on the six-lane expressway, starting from a southern suburb of Bangalore to the northern part of the city is a dream. It hardly takes any effort or time. The road is not exactly an autobahn, but for people trundling around a congested Bangalore, it will feel like one.

Still, the expressway is essentially only a peripheral ring road of a larger, Rs 2,000 crore Bangalore-Mysore Expressway project that has been in the works for around 16 years. Only the peripheral part (56 kms) has been completed so far. Dogged by various allegations about land grabbing and deliberate slowing down of the project, the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE)—the company responsible for this project—recently won its 566th case when the Supreme Court rejected a Lok Ayukta probe into the project.

That doesn’t mean that the project has shed itself of controversy. Firstly, after 16 long years, NICE, a subsidiary of BF Utilities of the Bharat Forge Group, only has a peripheral ring road within Bangalore city as its only achievement. Moreover, there is no connection at Bannerghata Road (an IT corridor) to another IT corridor the stretch to Electronics City—which is a glaring oversight. Then, there are accusations by former Prime Minister Deve Gowda who has been stating that this project is nothing but a land-grab, disguised in the form of infrastructure development. The main allegation is that in addition to building the 164 km expressway connecting Bangalore to Mysore, NICE will get nearly 10,000 acres along it to build sprawling townships from land which it will get at cheaper cost.“It is true that NICE will build 5 mega townships along the expressway but we are ready to give the true value of land to the people who want to sell it to us. While many are willing to sell, there are few who are not and some others are being brainwashed into not giving up their land for our project,” claims Ashok Kheny, MD, NICE. He has been waging a long battle against his detractors for many years and he shows no signs of giving up — nor is there any indication that Deve Gowda will.

V Ravichandar, chairman, Feedback Consulting, one of the experts on the infrastructure projects in Bangalore says that while NICE is to be complimented for hanging in despite many efforts to get them to exit, part of the problem is due to poor project structuring of the MoU from the outset of the MoU.“For instance leasehold land for development to the private party should have been linked to milestones on the entire BMIC corridor —now we have a situation that till the land is completely handed over, there is no obligation to complete the corridor. Government is to blame for structuring such an MoU in the first place,” he said.

The 56-km peripheral project itself took almost a decade to build with the idea to alleviate the problem of the commercial traffic travelling on the busy NH 4 and NH 7 (linking Chennai in the south to Mumbai in the west) without crossing central Bangalore by a fast, grade-separated peripheral road.

With heavy commercial traffic using this link, and an average of Rs 20 lakh per day in toll collections, this asset recently attracted J P Morgan to invest around Rs 450 crore to complete the stretch and also look at a township on the outskirts of Bangalore at Bidadi, a town through which the expressway will proceed on to Mysore. “If we can complete the journey from Mysore to Bangalore in an hour’s time it will decongest Bangalore to a large extent but we are not getting any land to execute the expressway,” notes Kheny.

Even as this project meanders along to what appears to be a never-ending controversy, NICE is now embarking on some real estate development on the land which they have along the peripheral ring road. For starters, Kheny is planning to roll out nearly 10 million square feet of housing projects starting right from low income to villas to suit various sections of the society. “As and when we get the land for the expressway, we will execute the project. But until then, this will be related development which we will take up,” Kheny says

What could be a way out of this fiasco? “Let’s look forward. NICE has Court orders that needs to be implemented. In return, the government should negotiate a time bound completion of the entire corridor. I can’t see any other way of bringing this to closure that gives citizens the expressway that definitely is needed—the legal fine print is such that we don’t have options.”

Metro edges on in east; focus on rest

The long-felt need of metro rail for the bustling capital is all set to be realised soon. Of the total length of 42.30 km in the first phase, the work on Reach-1 from Byappanahalli to MG Road is ready for commercial operation.

The benefit of the mass transport project could be reaped in full only after the tracks extend in all the four directions from Majestic and Vidhana Soudha. According to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, Metro will be operational on all the reaches by March 2013 . Reaches 3, 3A and 3B extending from Swastik Circle to Yeshwantpur and to Hesaraghatta Cross are expected to become operational by December 2012. The first underground section (UG-1) from Swastik to KR Road entrance; second underground stretch (UG-2) from Minsk Square to Magadi Road entrance; Reach-2 from Magadi Road to Nayandahalli and Reaches 4, 4A on KR Road-South End Circle-Banashankari-Puttenahalli route are expected to be completed by the end of March 2013. A total of eight stations are planned in the underground stretch - three in north-south corridor and five in east-west corridor. Two stations are planned at Majestic in the form of a cross and the tender work for these stations is yet to be completed. The work on the rest of the six stations has begun. Drilling tunnel from Majestic to Vidhana Soudha is underway and the first tunnel has been dug for a length of about 330 metre while a distance of 50 metre has been covered in the second tunnel. The work on construction of pillars to support viaducts for the elevated stretch on Reaches 2, 3, 3A, 3B, 4 and 4A is in the final stage. Half the work on construction of stations too has been completed. Track laying, power supply infrastructure, and installation of signal system have to be carried out in the later stages. Metro has two depots as of now - one at Byappanahalli and another at Peenya. Depots are a necessary infrastructure for smooth operation of the Metro. The BMRCL plans to operationalise Reach-3 after the commercial operations begin on Reach-1. Tracking the tracks Reach-1: Connects Byappanahalli with M G Road; cleared for commercial operations. Reach-2: Connects Magadi Road with Mysore Road; 177 out of 242 pillars for elevated stretch ready; 77 per cent of viaduct work completed; 99 per cent of foundation work of stations completed; placing cement beams for first floor and platforms in progress. Reach-3: Connects Yeshwanthpur with Swastik station in Malleswaram; 165 pillars out of 205 constructed; viaduct work connecting 106 pillars completed; 50 per cent of work on stations over. Reach-3A: Connects Yeshwanthpur with Peenya Depot; Of the 215 pillars, 80 are ready, viaduct to link 45 pillars are ready; construction work of stations has begun Reach-4: Connects K R Market with R V Road; 145 out of 147 pillars ready; viaduct work connecting 104 pillars completed; 80 per cent of K R Road station; 74 per cent of Lalbagh station; 65 per cent of Jayanagar station and 64 per cent of R V Road station work completed. Reach-4A: Connects R V Road with Puttenahalli; construction of 51 out of 141 pillars completed; work on viaduct connecting 18 pillars completed; Work on stations on the reach under progress. Underground stretch UG-1: Swastik to KR Market -  Work on two stations has begun; tunnel drilling yet to commence UG-2: Minsk Square to Magadi Road entrance - Work on one station, tunnel boring in progress Total distance in first phase 42.30 km *  6.7-km stretch in first phase ready for commercial operation *  All routes expected to be operational by March 2013 ‘Metro could be Deepavali gift’ Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said on Saturday that with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) getting final clearance for operating the Metro rail on Reach-1, the government was hoping to inaugurate the service during Deepavali as a gift to Bangaloreans. The government is keen on getting the service inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “The State has sought his appointment. His office is yet to respond. A senior minister from the State will be appointed to co-ordinate with the Prime Minister’s office to get Singh’s appointment,” Gowda said.

Tagore Circle Underpass Status

All clear: Metro awaits launch by PM

The final hurdle has been cleared. Namma Metro now has the all important safety certificate in hand that gives it the licence to begin its commercial run in the city. The Commissioner for Railway Safety (CRS) has issued the safety certificate after inspecting the Metro line between Byappan-ahalli and M.G. Road and scrutinizing the various documents submitted to him by BMRCL to demonstrate that it is well and truly ready to carry passengers on Reach- 1 .

“A formal authorisation letter on the safety certificate has been issued to BMRCL Friday afternoon, allowing it to begin commercial operations of the Metro Rail,” CRS Dinesh Kumar Singh said. But although the technical decks have been cleared, the BMRCL can set a date for its launch only after the state government hears from PM Manmohan Singh, who is returning on September 27 from the 66th session of the UN General Assembly. BMRCL managing director N. Sivasailam said the Metro would begin its run once they received the go-ahead from the State government. “It’s ready for commercial operation now. Once the government gives us a date we will proceed with the launch.,” he added. The BMRCL had last week received the sanction for the line and rolling stock from the Railway Board, allowing it to submit it along with its compliance report on suggestions made by the CRS.