Railways

London's Deputy Mayor inaugurates shared network of cities to handle air-pollution:  C40 Air Quality Network, a collective of 14 cities across the world, with Bengaluru and London leading the initiative, was officially launched on July 30.  Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara inaugurated the event to mark the beginning of a global discussion to tackle and share knowledge regarding the steps taken to handle air-pollution. The Deputy Mayor of London, Shirley Rodrigues, listed out measures she intends to implement in the British capital. Imposing toxicity charges on polluting vehicles, and adhering to UK and European air pollution limits are among the…

It has been a week of contrasts for transit in Bengaluru last week. Even as the debate about the proposed elevator corridor heated up, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy announced that a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the Suburban Rail project would be set up in a month to help speed up the project under K-RIDE (Railway Infrastructure Development Company Karnataka Limited). This move was welcomed as a shot in the arm for the project that has been decades in the making - except for one tiny detail. A Special Purpose Vehicle for Suburban Rail already exists for Bengaluru! In…

16 traders lose licences for using disposable plastic At a council meeting held in July, BBMP had declared an ultimatum to traders who do not stop using disposable plastic material (cups, plates and spoons). Mayor Sampath Raj had chalked out a week's deadline for the shopkeepers to permanently shift to using eco-friendly materials instead, failing which the licences of establishments would be cancelled. True to their word, the corporation's health department cancelled 16 trading licences of shops in Avenue Road, Bommanahalli and Neelasandra. One and a half tonnes of plastic was recovered through the raids conducted over two days, along with…

Eight years ago, a bunch of us were discussing on Praja.in about commuter rail routes and reviewing its potential for changing the transportation scene in the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region of 8,000 sqkms. In one of the comments, I had proposed that we use the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) as a hub for rail as well, so a new transport hub for passengers is created. Let’s look at what we might achieve by doing this. Economic growth of a country depends on the productivity of the economy. Efficient, intelligent usage of Labour and Capital investments determine productivity. Where we deploy investments…

State transport department in dire need of funds  Transport Minister DC Thammanna has said that the state transport corporations BMTC, NEKRTC, and NWKRTC have run into annual losses worth Rs 600 crore, and a fare hike may be inevitable if operations are to be continued. The decreasing fuel efficiency (mileage) of buses caused by halting in congested, traffic-ridden roads and additional taxes for fuel have only added to the debt, the minister complained. In order to make profits and generate some revenue, a proposal for a 20% hike in bus fares has already been made. The matter is being considered by the…

The start of 2018 has seen a slew of announcements for the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project, a project that was first proposed way back in 1983. The Government of Karnataka and Ministry of Railways, Government of India announced their official approval and slew of works to kickstart the actual suburban rail services in the city. Though it could be argued that the timing of the announcements which coincided the State Assembly elections was about political capital, it has put the project on an irreversible northward trajectory. On January 31, 2018, Government of Karnataka came out with its announcement for setting…

After many promises of suburban rail system for Bengaluru, the central government has finally introduced two new routes for suburban rails within Bengaluru and has introduced eight new trains to travel in these routes. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal made the formal announcement on March 9, 2018. Close on the heels of this, the new trains were introduced on March 12th. Out of the eight trains, four are running between Hosur and Banaswadi, and two each on Byappanahalli-Whitefield and Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (Majestic)-Byappanahalli routes. This has been considered as a relief to workers in the technology sector, and will be on…

Union Budget mentions Bengaluru Suburban Rail:  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced in the Union Budget that Bengaluru suburban network could spring up at a cost of ₹17,000 crore. It had agreed to invest about 20% of the total expenses, with ₹1,745 crore in two years. State government will invest another 20%, and the rest needs to be funded through loans. The rail project will be partly elevated inside the core areas of the city. Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao agreed that the project can take off when both the State and the Centre contribute 20% of the cost.  They both…

An open letter to Ananth Kumar, MP, Bengaluru South Dear Sir, Subject – Suburban Rail Service for Bengaluru I really do not know how to react to the recent press briefing (January 18, 2018) from Railway Minister Shri. Piyush Goyal with yet another announcement on ‘Suburban Rail Service’ for Bengaluru. I am appalled at your endorsement of such announcement with lofty ideas like ‘elevated tracks’, increased FAR etc. Is this announcement any better or unique from previous ones that have been made from time to time? Do you really believe that by this announcement Bengaluru City will be blessed with…

Google to help Bengaluru police manage traffic better: "A team of officials from Google and the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) are developing a custom-made ‘Traffic analyser app’ for the traffic police, which will help in congestion management, benefiting the general public," said R. Hitendra, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), to The Hindu. Rooftop restaurants already shutting shop: A number of rooftop pubs, bars and restaurants have complied with the orders of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to close down their establishments. They had been found operating without trade licenses. About 135 establishments had been given a week’s…