City-Devanahalli rail link proposed

City-Devanahalli rail link proposed
Deccan Herald

Two years ahead of the scheduled launch of the international airport in Devanahalli, a rail link has been proposed to address the issue of connectivity between Bangalore City and the airport, that is around 35 km from the City.

Vinay Kumar, Principal Secretary, Infrastructure Development Department, told reporters at the airport construction site on Friday that the department had made a proposal to create a dedicated rail link from the City to the airport. The proposal would be submitted to the Cabinet this month.

Minister for Infrastructure Development B Sriramulu told Deccan Herald that he was positive about the clearance of the proposal within this month.

“This is going to be a new, dedicated double-line link between the City and Devanahalli. We are in the process of identifying the K R Puram area as a possible starting point, where trains can also join the new link,” he said.

“We hope to have the rail link in place by the time the airport is launched, but it all depends on the tenders and other modalities involved,” Mr Kumar said.

The Principal Secretary said the line would be around 33-km long and constructed on a Build Own Operate and Transfer system.

He said the proposed trumpet interchange near Doddajala could also double up as a high-speed connecting link between the City and the airport.

Bangalore International Airport Limited Chief Project Officer Sivaramakrishnan S Iyer said the airport masterplan had provisions for incorporating infrastructure of a rail station.

“The masterplan of the airport has earmarked space for future incorporation of station infrastructure, that can run metro or regular trains,” he said.