`Route' cause: getting to the Devanahalli airport

`Route' cause: getting to the Devanahalli airport

Rasheed Kappan

Has the crucial issue of access and travel time to Devanahalli been overlooked by the authorities concerned?

# BMRDA plans 21-km tolled expressway from Outer Ring Road
# BMTC will introduce Volvo bus services from the city


BANGALORE: Bangalore deserved a world-class international airport much before information technology hijacked the city's placid image. Late, controversial, yet timely, the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) project promised to deliver just what the city needed to replace the outdated HAL Airport.

But in its urgency to get the new airport off ground by April 2008, has a crucial issue been overlooked, namely, access and travel time to the airport?

In other words, is Devanahalli simply too far away for the Bangalorean?

Public Eye did a reality check on existing access to the airport, road and rail links in the pipeline, ideas yet on the drawing board, and what the private airlines have to say on the access issue.

Onus on BIAL

Airports Authority of India (AAI) Regional Director Navinder Khosal put the onus on connecting Devanahalli with the city on BIAL. "AAI's major activity at Devanahalli will be air traffic control, which is handled here by HAL. BIAL will be running the show on terminal management and connectivity. Nowhere does the AAI provide transport," he said.

But BIAL officials had no answer to the questions relating to access either. The State's Infrastructure Development department has to tackle that, they pointed out. BIAL's jurisdiction was only limited to the development and maintenance of the airport, he said.

Rail link

So is the ball in the State Government's court? The question was posed to V.P. Baligar, Principal Secretary, Infrastructure Development Department. "I have written to the Indian Railways with three proposals to connect the city with Devanahalli," he said.

Here are the proposals, according to Mr. Baligar. First, a push-pull train that could take passengers from Bangalore City or Cantonment Railway Station to Doddajala, and BIAL then provide transport to the airport. Second, BIAL could set up a railway station close to the airport and the railways could get the push-pull train link to the city. Lastly, a railway line from the city leading right inside the airport.

"I have written to the General Manager, South Western Railways, last week. The reply is awaited," Mr. Baligar said.

The existing Bellary Road (NH-7) has been relaid and widened to six-lane. The Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) has planned a 21-km tolled expressway from the Outer Ring Road to the airport. Also waiting for development is the State Highway 104, running parallel to the proposed expressway.

Airlines' efforts

Over a dozen private airlines have major expansion plans once they move to the Devanahalli airport. These include more flights, destinations, and aircraft. None of them, however, have plans to introduce shuttle bus services for passengers from the city to the airport.

"In some other cities such as Mumbai, the AAI takes the passengers between the international and domestic airports. All the airlines representatives are expected to have a meeting with the BIAL sometime in June. The issue of access is likely to come up," said a Kingfisher official.

BMTC ready

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will introduce a Volvo (Vajra) service to the airport from different parts of the city. According to BMTC Managing Director Upendra Tripathy,

"BIAL has already provided us with two acres to set up a depot and service would be introduced based on no-loss and no-profit basis."

Modalities such as the fares, timing and routes of Vajra services would be worked out later.

Taxis

Taxis are likely to play a vital role in providing connectivity to Devanahalli. Taxi drivers attached to the Bangalore and Airport Taxi Drivers' Union, unhappy with the Rs. 60 parking fee they have to pay at the HAL airport, hope to get a better deal at Devanahalli.

"The Transport Commissioner has assured us of his help in setting up proper counters there," union general secretary Ashoka said.

Taxis attached to the Union now charge Rs. 14 a km. Bangaloreans will have to pay the same rate once the airport shifts to Devanahalli, according to Mr. Ashoka. This may work out to almost Rs. 1,000 for a trip from the city to airport.