BOARDING PASS AT MG ROAD

BOARDING PASS AT MG ROAD
The proposed high-speed rail link to the airport may include a facility for air passengers to pick up their boarding passes at two city terminals
SUCHITH KIDIYOOR


Obtaining a boarding pass in the heart of the city for your flight from BIA could be a reality in the not too distant future, if the proposed Rs 5,800 crore high speed rail link (HSRL) project takes off. The Bangalore Airport Rail Link Limited (BARLL), the nodal agency for the rail link project that connects the airport with the central part of the city, is pushing for the measure.
BARLL, which is all set to finalise the consortium to execute the mega infrastructure project, has planned two city terminals where air passengers can check in and obtain boarding passes, said sources quoting from the detailed project report for the HSRL. While one of the check-in terminals will be located at the Police Parade Grounds on M G Road, the other one is proposed near the Hebbal flyover —- a junction where vehicles coming from Mysore Road and Electronics City join the BIA route.
The trains, expected to run as speeds of 145 kmph, will traverse a distance of 33.65 km from M G Road and the journey time will be less than 25 minutes. Each train will have six fully air-conditioned coaches with space for baggage. Once the air passenger obtains a boarding pass at the railway station, he will not have to worry about reaching the airport on time to board his flight, the sources said.
CATCHY IDEA
However, the idea of city terminals is still at the conceptualisation stage, and the modalities have to be worked out in coordination with the security agencies, airlines and the BIA authorities, the sources said. The proposal is seen as one that will be welcomed by Bangaloreans, considering that there has been opposition to the rail link project on account of its cost.
The project is likely to take off after the BBMP polls and is expected to take two years for completion. Officials maintain that the 33.65 km rail link will reduce traffic congestion on National Highway 7 leading to BIA. “We need the new rail link as traffic on the existing threelane way on National Highway 7 has become dense. So much so that the highway to the airport has 11 traffic signals now and that delays travel time,” the government stated in a presentation made to trade bodies recently.
THE ROUTE

• Starts from M G Road-Cubbon Road

• Chowdaiah Road

• Bellary Road

• Hebbal station

• Yelahanka station

• Terminates at Bangalore International Airport (BIA)
Total length: 33.65 km
WHY HAVE A
TRAIN?

• The existing three-lane way on NH 7 has become congested because of an increase in vehicular traffic. (There are 11 traffic signals on BIA route now.)

• A train will reduce pollution levels.

• To start with, ten trains will run. Each train will have six coaches and carry up to 400 passengers. The frequency of these trains will be ten minutes.
Two years ago, the estimated cost was Rs 3,700 crore. It has now escalated to Rs 5,800 crore.