Railways

Mobility was arguably Bengaluru’s single largest problem in 2017. Even as people grappled with depleting resources of water and land, it was the nightmare of getting from one place to another that took precedence over all else in our psyche. In a city of about 1.1 crore people, Bengaluru officially has close to 70 lakh registered vehicles. This is the second largest vehicle population in the country, coming behind Delhi which leads the way with a little more than a crore vehicles on its street. Mumbai with a population of 20 million has just over 35 lakh vehicles. In Bengaluru…

Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation’s survey for Cantonment metro station has created panic among the residents of Maangalya apartments in Benson Town. In part 1 of this story, Citizen Matters had reported that the mid-tunnel shaft between Cantonment and Pottery Town stations will come up at Maangalya apartment site, if Cantonment metro station is built at its original location as per the Detailed Project Report (DPR). The shaft is needed because the length of this stretch would be above 1.5 kms. The DPR had mentioned a specific location for the metro station — right opposite Cantonment railway station’s main entrance, under…

As the controversy on the location of the upcoming Cantonment metro station continues, Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) has left many questions unanswered. While a citizens’ group has been demanding metro station right in front of the railway station where it was planned originally,  another is demanding it at the alternate location proposed by BMRC, at Bamboo Bazaar. With BMRC refusing to answer questions raised by citizens and the media, the suspense remains. Cantonment metro station was originally supposed to come up right opposite the Cantonment railway station, under its parking lot, as per the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for…

Dear Railway Minister, Bengaluru doesn't need elevated railway tracks. There is a 2012 RITES report on Suburban Rail System gathering dust in your offices that talks about what is needed for Namma Bengaluru. Please take some moments and see what this reports says. I am sure after reading this document you will hang your head in shame. The current state of railways is not of your making but a result of decades of not doing the hard work of upgrading and bringing in required efficiencies. It is reported in news that you have suggested to have elevated tracks to decongest…

This petition will be handed over to the Railways officially by the Hosur Payanigal Meambattu Sangham, on October 26, 2017, at 7.30 am, in Hosur Railway Station. To, Honorable Shri Piyush Goyal, The Honorable Minister of Indian Railways, Government of India. From, The Daily Rail Commuters between Hosur and Bengaluru Hosur Tamilnadu. Respected Sir, Sub: Requesting to approve the doubling of track between Hosur and Bengaluru; and stoppage of Express trains in a few stations. We are the proud passengers who commute up and down from Hosur to Bengaluru on daily basis to earn our livelihood. Most of us are…

#ChukkuBukkuBeku campaigners line up to board the Bangarpet passenger train at the Cantonment Railway Station on Saturday. Pic: Sumukh Kadekar Over 300 people assembled at six railway stations between Cantonment station to Whitefield as part of the #ChukuBukkuBeku campaign organised by Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) on Saturday, (December 17, 2016,) highlighting the need for a suburban railway system in Bangalore to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. Several campaigners including actor Prakash Belawadi and singer Raghu Dixit who boarded the Bangarpet passenger train (which was delayed by over an hour) at Cantonment station at around 10.30 am were joined by…

Representative Image. Photo courtesy: Subhashish Panigrahi via Wikimedia Commons 10-Sep-2016. Train number 17604 Kachiguda Express. I was on my way to Hyderabad from Bangalore. It was around 11.15 pm, I woke up from my already disturbed sleep for two reasons.  Firstly, the roof lights were on. Secondly, amidst the quiet humming noise of the AC sleeper coach and the constant titak-titak-titak-titak from the running train, I heard someone coughing.  When I opened my eyes, I saw a lady in burqa seated on the side lower berth with a man sitting next to her. The man was holding a kerchief to…

‘Swacch Bharat!’ We have seen a lot of hype about this programme in media but what is the reality? Of course, many things are happening in little pockets around the country, about which we read or hear. It does give us some hope that some day, maybe after half a century, we may see some difference at least in certain localities. However, as an individual, my experience has been a bit disappointing. Firstly, the once beautiful garden city of Bengaluru is turning into a city of concrete, garbage, polluted water bodies and chaos at a very fast pace!  Cleaning up…

It's disgusting to see the many small ways (adding up to large totals) in which the catering contract staff on Southern Railways cheat the passengers. On the 26th of July, 2016, I travelled by the Bangalore-Chennai Exp (train no. 12609) to Chennai, and on the 27th, I travelled back by the same train.   An elderly gentleman asked the man selling bottles of mineral water, "How much is a bottle?" and the answer was, "Rs.30". Even before I could react, another alert passenger caught the man and said, "It's Rs.15 a bottle, why are you giving twice that price?" The…

On my train journeys, recently, I have come across this sign in the A/C 2-Tier coaches: I fail to see any sense or logic in this. The air-conditioner in the railway coach is running (or, is at least supposed to run...on the 21st of March, I travelled in an A/C 2 Tier coach where the air-conditioner did not run, and since the train started at 22.40 hrs and reached at 04.40 hrs, there was no way of getting a written complaint lodged, and hence a claim for fare refund....but that's another story). The fan is running, the lights are on,…