Nod for rail link between new Bangalore airport, city

Nod for rail link between new Bangalore airport, city
Johnson Abraham
Posted online: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 0019 hrs Print Email

Bangalore, June 17: Following up on a clearance provided earlier this year by the dispensation under the Governor, the new Government in the state has also accorded its approval for a high-speed rail link between the new Bengaluru International Airport and the city.

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The Rs 3,561 crore rail link project, prepared with the technical expertise of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and first cleared in December 2007, has received the Government’s approval, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa announced on Tuesday following a review of infrastructure projects for the city. The rail link would enable commuters to cover a distance of 33 km between the city and the new airport in 25 minutes, against the current minimum of 45 to 60 minutes. Yeddyurappa reiterated plans to have check-in counters for the new airport on Cubbon Road at the starting point of the rail link facility.

A special purpose vehicle to implement the project, featuring the state Government, DMRC, and Bangalore International Airport Limited, has already been created. State Government officials on Tuesday said that the rail link would be established under public-private-partnership model.

The Government also announced plans to buy 310 Volvo buses for Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation to ply as a high-end service in the city. A limited Volvo bus service already exists with the BMTC.

In another key push for a pending project, reviewed by the CM, the Bangalore Development Authority has decided to float a global tender for building the first phase of 65 km of a 115 km peripheral ring road around the city.

For the Rs 3,000 crore road, intended to decongest traffic within Bangalore, around 1,800 acres of land has already been acquired, officials said.

The BDA has also announced plans to build 92,000 small flats, costing around Rs 3 lakh each for the economically weaker section.

“It is my dream to transform Bangalore into a global city in the real sense of the term. In our manifesto, we have come out with a blueprint for this purpose. We intend to provide infrastructure that can match global standards,” Yeddyurappa said on Tuesday.

A delegation of MPs from the state would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram for clearance of pending projects for Bangalore, he added.

Yeddyurappa also announced the convening of a meeting at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, on June 28 where suggestions for improvement of city’s infrastructure would be sought from industrialists, NGOs, opinion-makers and experts.