Government may drop rail-link to international airport

Government may drop rail-link to international airport
New indian Express

BANGALORE: The State Government will, in all probability, drop its plan of developing a direct rail link between Devanahalli international airport and the City.

Reason: The government is already working on an expressway under public-private partnership (PPP) between the two destinations, and does not want to have another to come in the way of its deal with private companies.

The government had earlier proposed to have a 35 km dedicated rail link to help commuters travel from the City to the airport.

The estimated cost of the project was Rs 500 core. Even the Cabinet too approved the proposal.

As per its plan, conceived on the models of Kuala Lumpur, a railway station was to come up near Cantonment Railway Station where passengers could complete the check-in formalities and collect boarding passes.

Even the baggage would directly reach the aircraft without additional handling at the airport. This was estimated to reduce the commuting time to 30 minutes from 90 minutes that a ride by road would take.

Officials told this paper that as the government was taking up the express way under the PPP, it cannot have another mode of transport which could make the expressway uncompetitive.

The proposed express way will start from the Hennur-Challakere stretch on outer ring road and pass through Chikkagubbi and Bagalur. It will connect NH 207 near Devanahalli.

The Karntaka Road Development Corporation (KRDCL) is making the detailed project report for the project, and the project is expected to ready by mid 2008.

The Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority will executive the project and is faced with a challenge to complete it well ahead of the the airport project, which is scheduled to open in April 2008.

The Authority sources said that as proposed road passes though rough terrain, it takes much time to conduct the survey work. The expressway was formalised in October this year.