bengaluru suburban rail service - a promise of growth beyond bengaluru

BENGALURU COMMUTER RAIL SERVICE

Compiled By

Khader Basha Syed

Praja – RAAG (Research, Analysis and Advocacy Group)

www.praja.in

NAMMA RAILU

http://www.praja.in/

Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru

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Contents PREFACE ........................................................................................................ 4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................... 5

1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 6

1.1 The Need ............................................................................................ 6

1.2 Growth Center paradigm .................................................................. 7

2 Namma Railu - The Proposal by Praja-RAAG ................................................. 9

2.1 Background ......................................................................................... 9

2.2 Namma Railu - What is it?................................................................... 10

2.3 Growth centers .................................................................................. 10

2.4 Catchments ....................................................................................... 11

2.5 Blue Print of Namma Railu .................................................................. 12

2.5.1 Routes ........................................................................................ 12

2.5.2 Upgraded stations and trains ......................................................... 12

2.5.3 Basic Commuter Amenities ............................................................ 13

2.5.4 Information Systems .................................................................... 14

2.5.5 Bulk Goods Transportation Facilities ................................................ 14

2.5.6 New services & increased frequency ............................................... 14

2.5.7 New Signaling system ................................................................... 14

2.5.8 Enhance Hubs .............................................................................. 15

2.5.9 New identified stations on all routes ............................................... 16

2.5.10 Integration with Other PT Modes .................................................... 17

2.5.11 Last mile connectivity to stations .................................................... 18

2.5.12 Enhance accessibility to stations ..................................................... 18

3 2012 RITES Report - A Techno-Feasibility Report......................................... 20

3.1 Leveraging the strength of Indian Railways ........................................... 20

3.2 CRS and Its importance for Bengaluru .................................................. 20

Source – 2012 RITES Report ....................................................................... 21

3.3 CRS Demand and Supply Assessment ................................................... 21

3.4 CRS Implementation – Infrastructure Development ................................ 22

3.4.1 Terminal Enhancements ................................................................ 22

3.4.2 Sectional Enhancements ............................................................... 24

3.4.3 Automatic Signaling ...................................................................... 24

3.4.4 Electrification, Doubling and Quadrupling ........................................ 24

3.4.5 Station Enhancements .................................................................. 24


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3.4.6 Rakes for Commuter Rail Service ................................................... 25

3.4.7 ROBs / RUBs ................................................................................ 25

3.5 Challenges – The Land ........................................................................ 25

4 Socio-Political Considerations .................................................................... 26

4.1 Moving growth beyond Bengaluru ........................................................ 26

4.2 Reach and its coverage ....................................................................... 26

4.3 Profile of the Benefiting Population ....................................................... 27

4.4 Comparison with similar mass transit systems ....................................... 28

4.5 Social, Economic Empowerment ........................................................... 29

4.5.1 Social Empowerment .................................................................... 29

4.5.2 Scope for Poverty Alleviation ......................................................... 30

4.5.3 Economic Empowerment ............................................................... 30

4.6 Impact of affordable daily commute service .......................................... 31

4.7 Decongestion and Fuel Cost Savings .................................................... 31

5 Economics and Return on Investment ........................................................ 33

5.1 Cost of building Namma Railu .............................................................. 33

5.2 Cost comparison with Bangalore Metro Rail ........................................... 34

5.3 Outcome of 8000 Crores Investment .................................................... 35

5.4 Return on Investment ........................................................................ 35

5.5 Employment generation in construction, operations of CRS ..................... 35

5.6 Economic growth in adjacent towns ...................................................... 35

5.7 Scope for upward mobility of poor and economic weaker sections ............ 36

6 Highlights ............................................................................................... 37

7 Appendix – A: The train ride that turned an eye opener ............................... 38

8 Appendix – B: Proposed CRS Stops/Halts ................................................... 39

9 Appendix – C: Operational Cost & Profitability ............................................. 41

Glossary ...................................................................................................... 43

References ................................................................................................... 44

Namma Railu Network Map ............................................................................ 45


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PREFACE

Since the release of Praja-RAAG’s “Call to Action Report on Commuter Rail Service

for Bengaluru” in August 2010, there have been several developments on its

advocacy campaign front. The campaign for ‘Commuter Rail Service in Bengaluru’,

aka, Namma Railu, has been enriched with continuous discussions on its importance,

socio-politico-economic analysis and regular coverage in the media. In July 2012,

RITES submitted its 2012 RITES report on “Implementation of Commuter Rail

Service in Bengaluru”, endorsing the need and demand of citizens groups for

commuter rail service in the city. This was followed by several high level interactions

among the urban development departments of Karnataka Government to consider

the proposal and accord the necessary approvals at state government level.

On March 19th, 2013, in a special cabinet meeting, the state government of

Karnataka has given the in- principle approval to the Namma Railu Proposal. Post

assembly elections, we should see some positive movement on this front. The work

is not done yet. This is only a beginning and there are many more hurdles to be

cleared before the project is finally flagged off.

Given the work ahead, awareness campaign that is needed for getting approvals

from Railways and Union Government, it was felt necessary to collate all the

information on Namma Railu and compile it in one report for easy understanding of

all aspects of it. It was felt necessary to compile this report for distribution among

all the stake holders in the state government as well as at the central government

level especially among MLAs, MPs, urban planners, bureaucrats and political

establishments.

This report is a compilation of highlights of Praja’s “Call to Action Report” on

Bangalore CRS, 2012 RITES Report and Socio-Economic benefit discussions on the

Praja.in portal.

It is our hope that readers of this report will be able to easily grasp the information

presented and be able to relate to the citizens’ demand for Namma Railu service in

Bengaluru.

Looking forward to the sight of Namma Railu trains chugging along the horizons of

the Bengaluru city soon.


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This report has been inspired by the outcome of relentless efforts of many

individuals, entities, NGOs, Civil Society members and the government officials in

pursuing the proposal for ‘Commuter Rail Service’ in Bengaluru.

The progress that this citizen campaign has made would not have been possible

without the support of Tumkur MP Shri. Basavaraj and Prof. Rajeev Gowda. Their

support is still continuing.

A special gratitude is due to Dr. T. G. Sitharam, Chairman, Centre for infrastructure,

Sustainable Transport and Urban Planning (CiSTUP) and his team for lending the

support and persuading the government agencies to take up this proposal for

consideration in recent years.

Special thanks to Smt. V. Manjula, Commissioner, Directorate of Urban Land

Transport (DULT), Karnataka, for taking keen interest in the CRS proposal and

taking up with the higher authorities under which DULT functions.

Thanks to Senior IAS officer Shri. V Madhu, Former Principal Secretary IDD,

Government of Karnataka, for his inspiration to take up this challenge under aegis of

Praja banner.

Heartfelt thanks to all the news media and their journalists who were very

considerate in carrying the news and information related to CRS campaign regularly

in their daily/weekly news editions.

Thanks to all the individuals and groups who have directly or indirectly supported

the campaign in different capacities.

The campaign for Namma Railu, aka Commuter Rail Service for Bengaluru, would

not have been possible without the Praja.in online debates and discussion on the

subject.

Last but not the least, special gratitude goes to Praja-RAAG members, who were

instrumental in pursuing the ‘Namma Railu’ campaign vigorously; the campaign is

continuing. The relentless efforts of Praja-RAAG members Pranav Jha, Muralidhar

Rao, Ravi D, Sathya Sanakaran, Sanjeev Dyamannavar, Srinidhi, Capt. Naveen

Chnadra, Vaishnovi Manjari, Hemanth Kumar, Deepak Vijayvergiy and Dr. Sanjay

Vijayraghavan - remain a testimony to the brilliant work of civic activism currently.


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1 Introduction

Provisioning mass transport for the growing economy has never been so much of a

priority before. With the kind of visibility Bengaluru has in the international arena

and the role India is going to play globally, it is important for both central and state

governments to sit up and take note. Ignoring long-term mass transport needs for

the city can result in grave consequences. The economy of any city thrives on

availability of good quality labor at affordable cost. Expensive housing and increased

travel times can result in severe pressures on productivity from human capital. This

may ultimately lead to flight of capital and hurt the economy with cascading effects.

Housing has already become unaffordable in Bengaluru for the lower and middle

classes, which form a major portion of the workforce today and also in the long-term

future. The industrial towns around Bengaluru are close to existing railway tracks.

These tracks can be said to lie wasted to some extent since a viable mass transit

option is not seriously considered. No amount of connectivity within the city will be

enough if that connectivity is not supplemented by mass transit to these nearby

industrial towns. The key is thus frequent, low cost connectivity, which can be

achieved by utilization and enhancement of the existing train tracks between

Bengaluru and the many growth centers in the suburbs and towns around it. Multiple

reports over twenty seven (27) years including many RITES survey reports have

drawn attention to discussed this fact repeatedly , but with little action and follow-

up.

1.1 The Need

Per McKinsey report on India’s urbanization by 2030 will be as follows:

590 million people will live in cities, nearly twice the population of US today

270 million people will be the net increase of working age population

70% of net new employment will be generated in cities

91 million households will be middle class, up from 22 million today

700-900 million sqm of commercial & residential space needs to be built,

or a new Chicago every year

2.5 billion sqm of roads will have to be paved, 20 times the capacity

created in the past decade

7400 Km of metros & subways will need to be constructed, 20 times the

capacity added in the past decade

Bengaluru is a leader in this growth. Per the report, it will have more than 10 million

people inhabiting it by 2030, of who a majority will be from the middle and lower

income group. For them, the urban mobility challenge will only increase as the

working population increases and hence, commute will become a major quality of

life indicator.


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Further, research by Center for Ecological Sciences, IISc, reveals a 76% decline in

vegetation cover and a 79% decline in water bodies due to the increase in built up

space in the urban areas of Bengaluru. This implies that any further significant net

addition within the urban area will result in a decline in standard of living.

How Bengaluru builds its infrastructure & manages this growth will determine if it

will continue to lead in taking the country forward or it will become a failure leading

to urban chaos.

1.2 Growth Center paradigm CTTP 2007 commissioned by KUIFDC/IDD of GoK had this to say regarding

Commuter Rail on existing tracks: “With the development of the huge Multiple

Economic Activity Areas like Electronic City, I.T. Parks, Industrial & Commercial

Areas with consequent job opportunities on the one hand and availability of

comparatively cheaper accommodation in surrounding towns like Hosur,

Ramanagaram, Tumkur, etc. where a large number of working population is likely to

live, substantial of commuter movement between these towns and the Metropolis

will take place.”

One critical element of this urban operating model of the future is how cities will

make and enforce land & space choices. Housing has already become unaffordable

in Bengaluru for the lower and middle classes. No city in India has allocated space

and zoning for affordable housing. The housing market has a preference to locate

close to commercial/urban spaces to increase the premium the houses can fetch.

This increases both, the cost & mixed use urban sprawl. Counter magnet cities, with

suburban mass transit, is the best and most effective way to focus on affordable

housing for middle & lower income groups who will constitute 75% of the future

workforce. Nearby suburban towns were often viewed as best options for setting up

industries to release growth pressures on the city to absorb new migrants and to

relocate some people from the city. It never happened, because a business

ecosystem cannot be artificially replaced or relocated. These suburban cities need to

be zoned to take the housing pressure off Bengaluru and this can happen only when

the option of traveling to Bengaluru quickly and cheaply becomes a reality.

From the McKinsey report one can gather that, for the first time in India’s history,

Karnataka along with other large south Indian states will have more people in its

cities than in its villages. This means that the pressure on cities will increase

considerably in the future to avoid urban sprawl and still manage their growth.

Increasing the area of Bengaluru and making it Bruhat Bengaluru has put undue

pressure on civic bodies and made the area difficult to manage. The alternate

model is to enable suburban cities to become more attractive destinations

for settlers & connect them via mass transit trains to within an approximate

one hour commute distance from Bengaluru.


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In the past two decades the state government in co-operation with the central

government has attempted a few options to address the urban transportation

challenges. Namma Metro, Mono Rail, High Speed Rail to BIAL, rejuvenated BMTC

service are all examples. While most of these focus on making commute within

Bengaluru city easier, the suburban connect is what will bring dividends in the long

run.

Efficiency in operations, more advanced levels of automation in signaling

supplemented by close coordination with local authorities in implementing last mile

solutions and superior interchange with metro are going to determine the success of

the Commuter rail.

The rest of this report will provide the excerpts from Praja’s ‘Call to Action Report for

Bangalore Commuter Rail Service’ report of 2010 and 2012’s RITES technical

feasibility report recommending commuter rail service in Bengaluru along with socio-

economic indicators buttressing the demand for it.


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2 Namma Railu - The Proposal by Praja-RAAG

2.1 Background

In the summer of 2010, Praja-RAAG (Research, Analysis and Advocacy Group) team

members decided to hold their monthly Praja meet on the newly introduced

commuter rail service train running between Yeshwantpur and Hosur. That train ride

on May 8th, 2010 later turned to be a revelation and opened up a new chapter in

advocacy campaign for Commuter Rail Service in Bengaluru. This is how Praja-RAAG

founder, Mr. Pranav Jha describes that train ride experience:

Though the discussion on using trains for daily commute was going on since 2008,

this ride experience suddenly brought the new energy and ideas to pursue further

for commuter rail service in Bengaluru. See Appendix-A for the detailed report. This

report has been widely quoted in various news articles.

The ride was then followed by the meeting with the then Government Of Karnataka’s

Infrastructure Development Department (IDD) Chief, Principal Secretary, Mr. V.

Madhu. Meeting with Mr. Madhu proved to be a challenge thrown at Praja-RAAG to

come up with a formal proposal for CRS in Bengaluru. The challenge was accepted

and a formal project nicknamed ‘Namma Railu’ was initiated by the Praja-RAAG

members, Sathya Sankaran, Capt. Naveen Chandra, Sanjeev Dyamannavar and

myself. The team then authored the formal proposal titled “Call to Action Report for

Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service”. Prof. T. G. Sitharam, Chairman, CiSTUP,

Bengaluru, wrote the foreword for the report.

In August, 2010, under the aegis of CiSTUP, Bengaluru, the ‘Namma Railu’ proposal

was presented to all the stake holders in Bengaluru’s Urban Transportation during a

round table conference held at IISc, Bengaluru. Since then the ‘Namma Railu’

project team has been on a mission meeting various politicians, ministers,

bureaucrats and officials both at state and central level advocating the need for CRS

in Bengaluru.

In 2012, Namma Railu Project was recognized and awarded ‘Volvo Sustainable

Transport Award 2012’ (Runner Up) by the Volvo Buses in Bengaluru.

“…On the morning of May 8, 2010, Five of us – Muralidhar Rao, Pranav Jha, Manjari, Naveen and Satya – travelled on local commuter train to Hosur to experience firsthand the feasibility of the Commuter Rail System (CRS). Ah! Ufff!. What an eye opener. Easily, the best Praja meeting of all. I am so lost for words here. So would be IDS, Murali, Naveen and Manjari you bet…”

“But all in all, after watching clean and empty train, and nice little stations, all so close from the busy corridors and suburbs of Bangalore, we were wondering why this magnificent option was underutilized while we all debate public transportation.”


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Following sections will provide the high level details of the Namma Railu proposal

called “Call to Action Report on Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service”.

2.2 Namma Railu - What is it?

The commuter rail service, aka Namma Railu, is a proposal for daily commuter train

services connecting suburban growth centers within an approximate one hour travel

distance to Bengaluru. It is a proposal for running commuter service with

environmental friendly electric trains which are bicycle & disabled friendly, operating

on existing tracks, doubled or quadrupled as necessary, for operation at a high

frequency of 20 or more trains per day between each origin-destination pair.

The Railways vision 2020 plan had this to say about railways vision for suburban

rail: "Partnerships with State and City Authorities will be established to augment the

infrastructure and manage suburban services under a single management. Both

suburban and long-distance trains must also look smart and colorful, reflecting our

belief in and commitment to ‘Change for a better tomorrow’".

2.3 Growth centers

The growth centers indicated in the map as green are the towns which will be

connected by the Commuter Rail. These growth centers are significant because they

are currently not very heavily populated despite their close proximity to Bengaluru.

They have sufficient headroom for growth and are approximately within one hour

traveling distance from Bengaluru. The catchment areas in between have the

potential to grow with rail connections.


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Growth Center Distance

from BLR

Population Catchment

Hosur 40 Kms 1.5 Lakhs Anekal, Jigani, Electronic city

Ramanagara 50 Kms 1 Lakh Kengeri, Bidadi

Mandya 70 Kms 3 Lakhs Chanpatna, Maddur

Tumkur 70 Kms 3 Lakhs Nelamangala, Peenya, Jalahalli,

Hessarghatta, Dobbspet

Chickballapur 70 Kms 0.7 Lakhs Devanahalli, BIA, ITIR, DBP, avaiation hub

Dodballapur 40 Kms 0.9 Lakh Yelahanka, Dodballapur Indl Area

Bangarpet 70 Kms 1.5 Lakh Malur, KIADB * All figures are approximate and taken from publically available sources

2.4 Catchments

SEGMENT Total catchment population in Lakhs (2011)

Not covered by local station

YESWANTPUR TO BENNINGANAHALLI 6.7 37.10%

BENNINGANAHALLI TO HOSUR 5.6 12.60%

BENNINGANAHALLI TO YELAHANKA 1.8 56.90%

YESHWANTPUR TO YELAHANKA 2.3 70.00%

YELAHANKA TO DODBALLAPUR 2.1 38.20%

YELAHANKA TO CHICKBALLAPUR 2.8 28.90%

YESHWANTPUR TO TUMKUR 10.7 20.97%

YESHWANTPUR TO RAMANAGARA 9.6 10.96%

RAMANAGARAM TO MANDYA 3.0 37.03%

BENNINGANAHALLI TO BANGARPET 4.0 16.00%

48.6 32.78%

The above table gives a snapshot of the population covered by the existing network

of tracks and the potential that lies unutilized.


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An estimated 48 lakh people live along the existing tracks between Bengaluru and

these growth centers. About 1/3rd of this population are not served because of lack

of stations and last mile within local areas. These 33% consequently move to other

modes like private transport to fulfill their commuting needs, putting further

pressure on roads.

2.5 Blue Print of Namma Railu

2.5.1 Routes

The Commuter Rail routes described below, if implemented at a frequency of 20

trains per day for each route, can support lakhs of commuters per day. By adding

rakes and using double decked carriages capacities can be scaled up many times

this number.

Route Distance (Kms)

Yeswantpur - Yelahanka - Devanahalli – Chickballapur 60 Benninganahalli - Thanisandra - Yelahanka – Doddballapur 37 Yeswantpur - Benninganahalli - Anekal – Hosur 66 Tumkur/Nelamangala - Yeswantpur – Benninganahalli 83 Yelahanka - Benninganahalli - Whitefield - Malur – Bangarpet 80

Yelahanka - Yeshwantpur - City - Kengeri – Ramanagara -Mandya 70

2.5.2 Upgraded stations and trains

The Railways Vision plan has this to say on suburban stations: “Many of the railway

stations located in major metropolitan cities individually handle more passengers

than the combined numbers handled by all airports of the country put together.

However, the stations are inadequately designed and unequipped to handle such


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large multitudes of passengers. They do not provide easy access or comfortable

experience prior to boarding or after disembarkation from trains”.

It is imperative that stations & rolling stock are upgraded to provide comfortable

traveling experience. Common branding of stations & trains with appropriate signage

enables common facilities to be offered at good quality under a single roof.

Comfortable trains and stations are already being built in other suburban services

like Mumbai & Hyderabad. A similar effort needs to be undertaken by the SPV for

Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service.

Common branding also requires the current SWR services to destinations in the

commuter rail target areas to be rolled into the ambit of commuter rail. SWR trains

to destinations like Bangarpet, Hosur and nearby towns can become Commuter rail

services thus enabling common ticketing schemes and timetable sharing. This

inorganic acquisition of existing services will help scale Commuter Rail services

faster.

2.5.3 Basic Commuter Amenities

Basic commuter facilities are essential for

the success of commuter rail & for high

ridership levels. Listed below are basic

amenities that are necessary at commuter

train stations:

Train Travel Information/Planning

Kiosks

Customer Service - Telephone/Manned

Clean and Hygienically maintained Restrooms


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Internet Hot-Spots

Charging outlets for mobile devices

First Aid Counter

ATM / Postal Vending Kiosks

Help for Physically Handicapped, Senior Citizens, Women with small children

2.5.4 Information Systems

Electronic Information Displays - Announcing

Arrivals/Departures

Electronic / Manual Information Counter -

Information on nearest transit centers, nearby

Business Centers, Hotels/Restaurants, etc.

2.5.5 Bulk Goods Transportation Facilities

The towns located around Bengaluru city are the growth centers and Commuter Rail

is their smart life line for their regular commute, business trips, goods transport

from and to their towns. Commuter Rail can facilitate goods transportation by

having rakes for carrying bulk goods and products. A good example is Mumbai's

local service, where each train has a special bogey exclusively for carrying bulk

goods.

2.5.6 New services & increased frequency

The economy of Bengaluru ranges from IT industries in Electronic city to Textile

units in Dodballapur to Manufacturing in Tumkur, Bidadi & Kolar, all working in

shifts. There is a need for commute during late hours for most of these workers. So

an ideal commuter rail service has to start early at 5AM and run late night till 11PM.

This means trains need to run for 18 hours a day with peak hours spread out in

between.

The frequency of commuter rails hence needs to be one train every 30 minutes

during peak hours and every hour during non-peak hours. Assuming peak hour as 6

hours, split in the morning & evening, we would ideally need to have 24 services

running in a day on each route. The peak hour services can consist of a few fast

trains with limited stops to supplement the regular services.

Thus, the frequency needs to be increased to have at least 8 trains during peak

hours on all routes immediately on commencement of services. This needs to

gradually increase to up to 24 trains a day on each route as the necessary

infrastructure is implemented. The frequency will be a key determinant of how

people choose to use the service. A high frequency service will encourage people to

reside in more distant places since they will have the means to travel to their

destinations easily, regardless of the time of day.

2.5.7 New Signaling system

Indian railways prefer the block lengths to be 4 to 8 Km under normal

circumstances. Railways need to reduce the block sizes on the commuter rail routes


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to increase track capacity. Increasing the number of stations is bound to create

smaller block sizes. In cases where distances between stations are higher it is

important that the commuter rail authority create Intermediate block sections to

improve track utilization. Smaller blocks would mean more signals and coordination

at each block. To ensure manual systems do not become a hurdle, negating the

efficiencies gained in reducing the block sizes, the Commuter Rail authority needs to

go in for Automated Block Signaling system for the tracks in scope. A more

advanced Moving Block System can be considered to manage the block sizes

dynamically and enable better management of train traffic.

2.5.8 Enhance Hubs

The commuter rail hubs

indicated in blue spots in

the figure will form

important interchanges for

changing directions from

one commuter train to the

other. It will have multiple

platforms and inter

connectivity with other

modes of transport like bus,

metro, mono, HSRL etc.

These hubs need to be

enhanced to international

standards to enable

seamless connectivity between multiple modes.

Yeshwantpur - Commuter Rail West Hub

Yeshwantpur is an important junction at the north-west end of the city for

Commuter Rail. This station is being enhanced to become a multimodal interchange to allow for metro and bus interchanges. The commuter rail needs to use this as a hub and provide appropriate facilities.

Benninganahalli - Commuter Rail East Hub

Old Madras Road (SV road) is a key traffic corridor in the east that connects NH4 towards Kolar, Whitefield road towards ITPL, EPIP and other industrial

areas. It also connects the eastern stretch of the busy outer ring road. This makes it imperative for Commuter Rail to make a stop at this location. There

are two options in this regard. One is to build a station at Benninganahalli and the other is to use Byappanahalli.

The option of building a multi-level station at Benninganahalli is attractive as

it can be made a dedicated commuter rail hub station. The upper level will serve the Yeshwantpur-Hosur route and the lower perpendicular station will

serve the City-Bangarpet section.

The other option is to route the Commuter trains coming from Yeshwantpur past the Byappanahalli goods yard towards Byappanahalli station. This allows

Commute

r Rail


16

the commuter trains to use the facilities and interchanges being built at Byappanahalli. The drawbacks of this option are:

Trains from Yelahanka towards Bangarpet will have to bypass

Byappanahalli and stop at Krishnarajapuram instead.

Since Byappanahalli also serves intercity trains to the city currently, the

available bandwidth needs to be managed so that it doesn’t interfere with the operation of frequent commuter trains.

Yelahanka - Commuter Rail North Hub

With trains from Yeswantpur towards Chickballapur & from Byappanahalli

towards Dodballapur converging here, Yelahanka is well positioned to be the North Hub for Commuter Rail. It serves major industrial regions of ITIR, DBP,

BIA & Dodballapur. With a stop planned for HSRL, this station needs to be developed into a multifunctional hub and taken up on the lines of Yeswantpur & Byappanahalli.

2.5.9 New identified stations on all routes

As seen in section 3, Close to 33% of areas remain uncovered due to lack of

stations. New stations are required to provide complete coverage. While the new

stations that need to be created are listed in section 3 appropriate to each segment,

the sketch below provides a consolidated listing of the same.


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2.5.10 Integration with Other PT Modes

The commuter rail complements the metro and other forms of city transport. If the

commuter rail is seamlessly integrated with other modes of transport, it can feed the

Metro /Mono /BMTC with a good number of commuters from the suburbs who can

then reach the interior parts of the city using these modes.

This integration with facilities like friendly ramps for the disabled, walkways,

travelators, escalators and subways directly to those terminals has to be created so

that uninterrupted access between different modes is available.

BMTC Connection

BMTC needs to support Commuter Rail by providing feeder services to all the

Commuter Rail stops/stations in the BMTC operational area. The feeder service at bare minimum should connect Commuter Rail stations to the nearest BMTC transit center. BMTC’s footprint being large, this should be an easy proposition. All it may

need is some changes in the route or it could be an exclusive feeder loop connecting the station to the nearest transit center.

Metro Connection

Fortunately, Namma Metro intersects the IR routes at many places in the city.

Commuter Rail needs to be integrated with Namma Metro at these locations, i.e

provide easy interchange facilities. Some of the locations that can provide easy

transit include Yeshwantpur, Benninganahalli, Kengeri & Whitefield.

Fare Tickets / Smart Cards

The Railways vision plan also mentions "Distribution

channels for railway tickets would be constantly

innovated so that obtaining a railway ticket

is completely hassle-free. PRS/UTS terminals, e-ticket

services, tickets through post offices, ATMs,

petrol pumps and smart-card based tickets for

unreserved travel would be expanded to improve

access. New and emerging technologies will be

harnessed towards this end"

Fare Tickets/Smart Cards Vending Kiosks (Self

Service)

Fare Tickets/Smart Cards Vending Counters (Manned)

Common ticketing system between Commuter Rail Service, Metro &

BMTC must be developed.

http://tinyurl.com/33b3dg3


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2.5.11 Last mile connectivity to stations

All over the world, the trend in public transport system has been to integrate all modes of PT systems. It is a well-acknowledged fact that India has been building transportation infrastructure in isolation. The planning of these is rarely done with all

transport stakeholders together and hence multimodal integration is found wanting during implementation. This consequently leads to underutilization and wastage.

Most suburban services in India are underperforming due to lack of last mile connectivity and poor

interconnectivity with other modes of transport to allow for seamless

changeovers.

In order to make Commuter Rail useful and viable, it has to have

tight integration with city’s PT systems. Integration with other PT

systems provides the commuter with point to point connectivity

right from the town outside Bengaluru to the specific location in

the city.

The Integration could range from Commuter Rail station at the same physical location to Commuter Rail station being a short walking distance to other PT transit

stations.

Coaches having facilities to carry cycles will go a long way in helping promote green last mile options. It also benefits the economically weaker sections to save on the

total cost of commuting.

2.5.12 Enhance accessibility to stations

The railway vision plan 2020 says

this on stations: "However, the

stations are inadequately designed

and equipped to handle such large

multitudes of passengers. They do

not provide easy access

or comfortable experience prior to

boarding or after disembarkation

from trains. Street-level access is

generally restricted to one or two

end-platforms (except at terminal

type of station layouts). Inter-

platform connectivity is through

foot over-bridges which are often inadequate, apart from being passenger-

unfriendly."

http://tinyurl.com/2v5af

8d


19

Station Accessibility

Feeder Service from the nearest Major Bus/Rail/Metro Transit Center - 24/7.

Preferential Access Point for Public Transport Drop Off/Pick up – Bus, Taxis,

Cabs, Auto.

Preferential Parking Spaces for

Environment Friendly Vehicles like

Bicycles.

General Security 24/7 around

stations and access roads.

Walkways and Ramps to access

points across tracks and outside

stations which are disabled-friendly.

Clear signboards providing directions

to parking and to public transport.

Additionally, ROB’s & RUB’s need to be built along all lines to enable smooth access

and uninterrupted service.


20

3 2012 RITES Report - A Techno-Feasibility Report

Pursuant to Praja-RAAG’s relentless advocacy for CRS in Bengaluru city, in 2011, under the instructions of Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, Commissioner, Department of Urban Land Transport (DULT) took up the Praja-RAAG proposal for

Commuter Rail Service in Bengaluru. Further, DULT retained RITES (Rail India Technical & Economic Services Limited), a Govt. of India Enterprise, to quickly

estimate the existing shortfall and the future requirement of commuter rail services for Bangalore region and suggest suitable workable model to implement CRS in Bengaluru.

In June 2012, RITES has submitted the report to DULT on “Implementing Commuter

Rail Service in Bangalore”. Following sections present some of the important

highlights of this report, endorsing the citizen’s demand for CRS in Bengaluru.

3.1 Leveraging the strength of Indian Railways

It is known to everybody that Indian Railways runs uninterrupted services to move

more than 30 million passengers and about 3 million tons of freight every day. As

most cities in India, Bengaluru also has railway lines going in all directions

connecting to Mysore, Hyderabad/Secunderabad, Mumbai, Mangalore and Chennai.

A Couple more new lines are being added. A careful look at the rail lines provides an

opportunity to recognize that these existing lines pass through all the towns and

places that surround Bengaluru city within 40-70 Km in radius. In that connectivity

also lie the various suburbs of Bengaluru that have erupted in the last 2 decades,

thanks to IT boom.

But a commuter rail service is a different proposition and its needs are very different

from regular long distance train services. It needs infrastructure that facilitates the

on-time arrival/departure along with very short frequency durations. In India, in

CRS category, Mumbai’s local service stands out as the best example with commuter

trains running at 2-3 minute frequency.

Combining the experience of Mumbai’s local train service and making use of the

existing IR infrastructure, it can conclusively be said that the proposed Bengaluru

commuter rail service has the potential to

run as high density urban transit system

run as suburban commuter system

3.2 CRS and Its importance for Bengaluru

For decades, people living in Bengaluru and other places around it have been using

the long distance train service for their daily commute though there is no formal

existence of commuter rail system in the city. The existence of such commuter

population can be easily gauged from the data on existing train ticket sales for travel

on CRS identified routes. Per actual ticket sales, about 1.5 lakh commuters are

already using the exiting trains (mostly long distance) for their daily commute,

though the timings don’t suit them very well. The passengers’ profile comprises


21

office goers, factory workers, small business owners, traders, students and a small

percentage of families for social events and urgent medical care.

Source – 2012 RITES Report

3.3 CRS Demand and Supply Assessment

Based on the existing travel patterns (given in Sec 4.2) and need for providing

reliable mass transit system to major growth centers keeping in mind the existing

rail lines, 7 Main corridors of CRS are identified:

YPR-TK (Yeshvantpur - Tumkur)

SBC-MYA (Bangalore City - Mandya and beyond )

YNK-DBU (Yelahanka - Dodballapur)

YNK-CBP (Yelahanka - Chikballapur)

BYPL-HSRA (Baiyyappanahalli - Hosur)

BYPL-BWT (Baiyyappanahalli - Bangarapet)

SDVL – Kunigal (Soldevanahalli – Kunigal) (This line is presently under

construction by IR)

Based on macro estimates,

Aggregate of above existing rail network length considered is 440.8 Km. Area

of BMR (though some of the destinations are outside BMR): 800 Sq.Km.

Total projected population in BMR, 2031 (BMRDA‟s „Draft Report, BMR Revised Structure Plan 2031‟): 18 million

Total projected trips in BMR, 2031 (@ a PCTR of 1.283) : 23.04 million

Total projected public transport trips in BMR, 2031 (@43% of total trips3): 9.91 million


22

Commuter Rail Trips (@ 30 % of public transport trips): 2.97 million.

Average no. of Commuter Rail trips per corridor (divided uniformly over 7

corridors) by 2031: 0.45 million (approx.).

Current (2011) daily trips on Bangalore commuter rail network is estimated as 0.15 million.

Implied: A current percentage trip by rail is about 5 % of 2031 demand.

Potential gap in current (2011) supply and future (2031) demand for daily trips by commuter rail: 2.82 million (approx.).

3.4 CRS Implementation – Infrastructure Development

The existing rail network in Bengaluru got developed over period of time and that

too in a piecemeal manner. In the absence of no comprehensive planned capacity

enhancements, railways in Bengaluru is in such a bad state that as of today it can’t

even add another new train to its schedule. These piecemeal additions have led to

gross inefficiencies in its operations, capacity, and room for meeting future

demands.

Given this grim situation, there is hardly any room left for starting regular commuter

rail service. For starting CRS in Bengaluru, there is need for huge capacity

enhancements in every aspect of railway infrastructure.

Fortunately, RITES through its comprehensive study of existing railway

infrastructure and the CRS needs, has concluded that with modest investments the

shortfall in infrastructure to enhance the capacity at all levels can easily be

achieved. A few more corrections would create capacity enhancements that will lead

to not only facilitate the operations of CRS, but will enhance the regular railway

capacity by 60-80%. It’s a perfect example of achieving double objectives – CRS

plus doubling IR capacity.

Here is a summary of the infrastructure improvements suggested by RITES.

3.4.1 Terminal Enhancements

3.4.1.1 Bangalore Terminal (SBC)

Bangalore City Terminal, aka SBC, immediately needs alternate space for shifting its

maintenance and stabilizing lines to free the platforms for coaching purposes. In

addition, it badly needs to correct its interconnectivity of all lines in all directions. At

present, all lines are not feasible for operating trains in all directions resulting in

severe inefficiencies.

The proposed redesigning of SBC terminal would result in

purely passenger handling facilities.

almost nil terminal activities and shunting operations.

almost all lines with universal reception and despatch facilities.

almost all lines with full length.


23

speed of 30 Kmph.

increase in the no. of platforms from 10 to 14 or 15.

increase in train handling capacity from 60 pairs a day to 150 pairs a day.

3.4.1.2 Yesvantpur Terminal

The Yesvantpur terminal is the second coaching terminal and its existing platforms

allows exit/entry in all 3 directions thereby facilitating operational flexibility. The

suggested Yesvantpur terminal would result in,

increase in no. of pit lines from 3 to 7

7 Stabling lines

6 platforms

increase in train handling capacity from 37 pairs a day to 60 pairs a day.

3.4.1.3 Baiyappanahally Terminal

At present this terminal is used as marshaling yard, mostly used for stabling trains

terminating at SBC due to non-availability of capacity at SBC. RITES suggests for

converting Baiyappanahalli terminal into both coaching as well as maintenance

terminal. The planned redesigning of this terminal would result in,

passenger cum maintenance handling facilities

terminal activities and shunting operations

all lines with universal reception and despatch facilities

all lines with full length

5 new platforms

10 Pit lines

5 stabling lines

6 R&D lines for goods

increase in train handling capacity from Zero to 70 pairs a day

3.4.1.4 Hejjala Terminal

This is to be developed as 4th coaching terminal. Developing 4th coaching terminal in

MYS section is strategically important to disperse the sub-urban traffic effectively

and for seamless function of CRS. The planned redesign of Hejjala terminal will

result in

6 new pit lines and

Facilitating in starting new long distance trains from SBC.

3.4.1.5 EMU Terminal

Though there are few options, available railway land at Banaswadi(BAND) is best

suitable for developing EMU terminal.

3.4.1.6 Freight Terminals

The existing freight terminal (SGT) near Whitefield will meet the immediate and near

term demand. If demand increases, another freight terminal in North side at

Doddballapur is recommended.


24

3.4.2 Sectional Enhancements

Sectional enhancements are very important in increasing the capacity to run more

trains than today. Here is a list of suggested sectional enhancements:

Change of signaling system to ‘Intermittent Block’ IB system on SBC-YPR line

to overcome unidirectional traffic congestion.

Change of signaling system to twin single line system on SBC-BNC line to

overcome unidirectional traffic congestion.

4 Flyovers (B’lore-Hosur, Bangarpet – Yelahanka, Bangarpet-Hebbal and

Yelahanka-B’lore) to overcome criss-cross movements at Baiyappanhalli.

1 Flyover at Lottegollahalli to overcome the criss-cross movements in

Yesvantpur section.

3.4.3 Automatic Signaling

In addition to above changes in signaling system at SBC-BNC and SBC-YPR, the

automatic signaling should be extended to all other sections:

Bangalore – Whitefield

Whitefield – Bangarapet

Bangalore-Mysore (along with full doubling and electrification)

Yeshvantpur – Tumkur (along with electrification)

Baiyyappanahalli – Yelahanka – Dodballapur (along with doubling)

Banaswadi – Hosur (along with doubling and electrification)

Soldevanahalli – Kunigal (line under construction)

3.4.4 Electrification, Doubling and Quadrupling

A complete doubling of lines on all the corridors combined with electrification of

these lines is very important for commuter rail service.

In fact quadrupling should be taken up on priority on the following sections to ease

the movement inside city and enhancing the frequency to 5 mins:

SBC - WFD (from congestion point of view)

BYPL-HSRA SBC-YPR-Tumkur

SBC-MYS

White Field – Bangarapet

3.4.5 Station Enhancements

For CRS operations, dedicated platforms with following CRS exclusive amenities are

required:

Foot Over-bridges

Ticketing Windows

Vending Stalls

Parking Space


25

For realizing full benefits of CRS, in addition to the existing 64 halts, another 45

halts are required depending upon the density of catchments.

3.4.6 Rakes for Commuter Rail Service

As the CRS systems demand, RITES recommends EMU (Electrical Multiple Units)

trains/rakes.

3.4.7 ROBs / RUBs

Level crossings will become the biggest hurdle if trains at every 10 minutes are to

be run. There exists about 150 crossings which need to be converted into ROB/RUB

for uninterrupted traffic movements, both road vehicles as well as trains.

3.5 Challenges – The Land

For implementing CRS in Bengaluru at its full potential, acquiring Binny Mill Land for

developing additional lines for maintenance and stabling is more than important.

Barring this, existing land with railways is sufficient to add lines and enhance

existing stations.

Further land needs to be acquired for specially building the new stations.


26

4 Socio-Political Considerations

If one were to talk of socio-political benefits of proposed Namma Railu / CRS service, volumes can be written on it. Since the objective of this document is to illustrate the highlights of benefits that commuter rail service can bring in, only handful of the benefits are discussed in the following sections. The purpose is to

drive home the point that as every public utility project, as a public mass transit system, proposed CRS is full of socio-political benefits prospects.

4.1 Moving growth beyond Bengaluru

The Bengaluru city for both good and bad reasons has reached the saturation point

for any type of growth, be it economics, population, industries or commerce. The

result is seen in terms of rationing of power and water. Housing has become

expensive and proving to be determining factor for availability of cheap labor. It is

time the growth in Bengaluru city and its suburbs was put on leash. It is time to

pursue policies and programs to shift the development and growth beyond

Bengaluru. Nothing can be better for this purpose than provisioning of Namma Railu,

CRS to connect the towns of Mandya, Ramanagaram, Tumkur, Doddaballpur,

Chikballpur, Malur, Hosur and Bangarpet.

With the reliable commuter rail service, opportunities will open up in these towns for

affordable housing

cheap land for starting industries and businesses

transportation of goods and products from and to Bengaluru and beyond

opportunities to reside in towns and work in the Bengaluru

space for setting up new educational, research, health and sports institutes.

4.2 Reach and its coverage

Per RITES, there is a potential for 440 KMs of CRS network in the above BMRDA region. This network spans across

8 Loksabha Constituencies in Karnataka: o Bengaluru Central

o Bengaluru South o Bengaluru North o Bengaluru Rural

o Chickballapur o Kolar

o Tumkur o Mandya

47 Assembly Constituencies in Karnataka

o Benefiting 48 Million people in the catchment areas o Garnering 30% of the public transport trips, i.e. 2.97 million

o Supporting 2 million commuters per day, increase from 1.5 lakhs at present.


27

B BMRDA Map – Courtesy www.bmrda.kar.nic.in

4.3 Profile of the Benefiting Population

By sheer its reach, CRS touches all sections of the society. Its inclusiveness is not something made-up, but comes with its turf.

Out of 440 Km, 220 Km fall in urban areas and 220 Km in rural areas It reaches city central, suburbs, semi-rural and rural areas equally With right kind of rakes, ticket pricing, stops, it is guaranteed to attract all

sections – o Poor to Rich

o Office goers to industrial workers o Urban dwellers to rural folks o Students to senior citizens

The closest match by any other mass transit system comes from Namma Metro

which is under construction. Namma Metro is designed and built for commute inside the city and by its design excludes certain areas, population, etc. In recent trends

for reasons of profiteering, the present mass transit systems providers like BMTC in the city is resorting to serving the affluent class more and neglecting the other sections. That goes against the very purpose of public mass transit system, which

must provide the balanced connectivity across all sections and all regions.

Proposed CRS project in comparison is well-placed to serve all sections and across all regions in the BMR region. It is the best avenue of providing access to affordable

http://www.bmrda.kar.nic.in/


28

mobility. The consequences of this emphasis are explained in the subsequent sections in detail.

4.4 Comparison with similar mass transit systems

The closest comparative mass transit systems in Bangalore at present are, under

construction ‘Namma Metro’ along with some proposals for Monorail, LRT and HSRL which are before the state government. Here are some comparisons in terms of

network length and capacity.

CRS Metro Monorail HSRL

Network Length (in Kms) 440 115 60 35

Daily Ridership 20,00,000 10,50,000 1,50,000 30,000

Data Source – 2012 RITES Report

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450


Network Length (in Km)

Network Length

(in Kms)

0

5

10

15

20

25


Daily Ridership (in Lakhs)

Daily Ridership

(in Lakhs)


29

4.5 Social, Economic Empowerment

Given its reach and impact on its beneficiaries, CRS project can also be proudly projected as empowerment of socially and economically backward sections of the

population both in urban and rural areas of the Bengaluru region.

Empowerment due to reliable and faster access to centers of education, health care, recreation, industries and business

Nothing short of poverty alleviation project, but in more sustainable form

4.5.1 Social Empowerment

For decades Bangalore has been known for educational and health institutes not

limiting to famous IISc, IIM-B and NIMHANS alone. After 1980’s liberal policy of

state government to open up the education and health sector to private entities, the

whole of Karnataka witnessed a kind of revolution in higher educational institutes in

every town and the city. Needless to say how many higher educational and medical

institutes have come up in the past 3 decades in Bangalore and its surrounding

areas especially in the proposed CRS catchment areas. The above map illustrates a

handful of them.

Proposed CRS is well-place to provide the mass transit connectivity to these centers

of education, health and employment. In general it will not be wrong to say that it

would empower the people living in the city, suburbs, villages, towns with affordable

mobility to

access educational institutes especially for professional and higher education

courses.


30

access vocational training institutes to get trained in technical and semi-

technical skills.

access personality development training institutes including finishing schools

for leadership training.

access health and medical institutes for better and quality treatments

access markets and business centers

access various pilgrimage and tourist centers that lie inside and outside

Bangalore city.

access government departments and agencies for citizens’ services like

applying for passports, ration cards, driving permits etc.

4.5.2 Scope for Poverty Alleviation

CRS in particular has the potential to help people in lower economic strata to climb

the economic ladder and come out of the condition they are in today. Affordable

mobility to access education and employment will open up the avenues of work and

business. Lower labor rates will enhance the prospects of newer businesses and

newer jobs. Newer jobs mean more opportunities for work and earnings.

The profile of population in the CRS catchments, especially outside Bangalore, is

mostly rural, agricultural and poorer to a large extent. With the provision of CRS,

there will be an opportunity to these sections to access better avenues be they for

education or for employment.

4.5.3 Economic Empowerment

It is known fact that, in general, social empowerment will lead to the economic

empowerment. The improvement in literacy levels will boosts the prospects of higher

personal earnings and economics of the locality. In the context of CRS, economic

empowerment from greater affordable mobility access is well recognized across the

world. The proposed Commuter Rail Service will

enable people to seek employment away from home.

provide industry and business with labor with economic and affordable

mobility. help reduce unemployment, hence reduce and prevent social problems.

0.005.00

10.0015.0020.0025.0030.0035.0040.0045.00

Poverty Level ( % )

Poverty Level ( % )


31

provide people an opportunity to afford a low cost housing in towns but still be able to work in Bengaluru.

stimulate economic growth in adjacent towns and catchment areas resulting

in lifting the standard of living. help people make more trips seeking health care services, shopping and

looking for recreation.

4.6 Impact of affordable daily commute service

Using a socio-economic study done for public transit in the state of Wisconsin, USA,

we can study how the absence of affordable public transit system would impact the

transit choices for the people especially that live beyond urban sprawling. Here is a

sample of that impact.

Transit Choices for Health Care purposes in absence of CRS By Alternate Transport Means 48%

Look for opportunities near home 23%

Not be able to seek medical assistance 25%

Others 4%

Transit Choices for Education purposes in absence of CRS By Alternate Transport Means 48%

Look for opportunities near home 15%

Not be able to attend School/College 13%

Missed Classes and related activities 22%

Others 2%

4.7 Decongestion and Fuel Cost Savings

CRS Bus Car

# of Services/Day to carry

20 Lakh Riders

674 20,000 6,70,000

Rider Capacity per trip

(Avg.)

2975 100 3

Average Commute Cost/ Fare per Trip per person

(Avg distance of 30 Km) (in Rs.)

30 60 100

Fuel Cost for making Trips Carrying CRS ridership

7,40,000 1,35,00,000 18,76,00,000

Fuel Operational Efficiency per Rider for this journey

(in Rs.)

2.05 13.5 100

The benefit of mass transit system like commuter rail service doesn’t just stop at

additional transit choice and affordable access to avenues of economic upliftment.

There are other inherent benefits that get accrued in the form of decongestion on

roads, savings in fuel cost and, in the final analysis, savings to the nation’s

exchequer in fuel imports.


32

Photo Courtesy - AAA

The direct correlation of this data is that with the CRS patronage of 20 lakh riders

per day, there will be 6.7 lakhs fewer cars on the road and savings of about

Rs. 18 Crores in fuel cost on daily basis.

Photo Courtesy - rac.com.au


33

5 Economics and Return on Investment

In the era of market economy, there is absolutely no chance or room for any projects to be considered only on basis of social good. These days government officials, entrusted with approving such projects are scrutinizing them for economic

impact, taking into account the investments needed and returns it will accrue in coming years.

Namma Railu proposal is also going through such close scrutiny in government

corridors on its economic viability. This is what the Principal Secretary at UDD (Urban Development Department) had to say about their due diligence on according approval to Namma Railu proposal:

.

Though it is well-known that investments into any infrastructure projects, especially

in the public mass transit systems’ is always a profitable venture. Not sure if the officers in GOK had enough time to ponder upon the economic benefits of Namma Railu so that their job becomes a little easy and see fewer roadblocks in approving

the project.

Here is an attempt to bring out the economic benefits that Namma Railu will bring in with its introduction in the region. Hopefully, these will not go unnoticed in

government, political and public corridors.

5.1 Cost of building Namma Railu

Per RITES, the cost for building and making Namma Railu operational will cost in the

range of 8000-9000 crores. Though this is a significant amount comparing with the cost of building it with other mass transit system provides an insight into cost and output comparisons. Here is a comparison of construction cost of CRS with other

planned mass transit systems in Bengaluru:

CRS* Metro* Monorail ∏ HSRL ∏

Daily Ridership 20,00,000 10,50,000 1,50,000 30,000

Length (Kms) 440 115 60 35

Total Cost (Crores) 8,000 38,000 8,400 6000

Construction Cost

(Per KM) (Crores) 15-20 200-400 150 180-200

"...Yes we are looking at it. Since this is a cost intensive project, the project

requires lots of thinking and co-ordination from various authorities and takes

time. Once positive steps are taken, we hopefully will like to forward..."

- Dr. Amita Prasad, Principal Secretary, UDD


34

5.2 Cost comparison with Bangalore Metro Rail

0

50

100

150

200

250

300


Construction Cost (Crores Per KM)

Construction Cost

(Crores Per KM)

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000


Total Cost (in Crores)

Total Cost (in

Crores)


35

5.3 Outcome of 8000 Crores Investment

This 8000 crores investment will not only help introduce CRS in Bengaluru but would have enhanced the entire railway infrastructure capacity in the city by 100%. Here is

a snapshot of what this investment will do:

Create capacity to operate CRS services - 675 Services per day carrying two million riders per day.

Capacity enhancements at SBC, YPR, BYP, YEL - Will Double i.e. Platforms, Stations, etc.

Railways will be able to double the number of long distance trains it can

operate and handle today. Enhancements to passenger amenities including Ticketing counters, Parking,

etc. Latest signaling system to South Western Railway’s Bangalore division. ROB/RUB at every railway crossing in the CRS operational region - Safety and

easing congestion due to manned crossings.

5.4 Return on Investment

As it is known world over that every rupee that is invested in mass transit

infrastructure will yield 6 rupees in return. Here is the list of potential economic returns of 8000 Crores of investment in CRS:

Total Economic Returns - 6 times of investment

8000 Crores of investment will yield 48,000 Crores in return. Business Sales - 3 times of investment Income to GOK in Taxes and receipts - 1500 Crores per annum

Savings in the lieu of other PT projects – 10,000 Crores

GOK's income of 1500 Crores P.A. alone is more than enough to recover the cost (8000 Crores) in 5 to 6 years. Other economic returns are icing on the cake.

5.5 Employment generation in construction, operations of CRS

There is no need to write about the employment generation due to activities in initial building/construction and operation of CRS. According to the ‘'The Socio-Economic

Benefits of Transit in Wisconson - By HLB Decision Economics' report,

Every $10 million invested in transit capital projects yields 300 jobs (Direct and Indirect)

Every $ 10 million invested in transit operations generates 600 jobs (Direct

and indirect)

Given the demography of proposed CRS network, it will not be incorrect to assume similar benefits accrual if not higher benefits.

5.6 Economic growth in adjacent towns

It is not a brainer to know the potential for catchments areas to benefit economically from CRS operations. Trains bring industries and businesses, thereby bringing in

increased economic activities in the vicinity. In the context of Namma Railu, it is a foregone conclusion that towns of Mandya, Ramanagaram, Malur, Bangarpet, Chikballapur, Doddaballapur and Tumkur will see the economic growth that is not

seen in the past. Economic growth means prosperity in towns. Who doesn't want it?


36

Major Towns Population Major Trade/Economic activity Mandya 137,735 Rice, Sugar, Silk Rearing, Higher Educational

Institutes

Ramanagaram* 79,365 Silk Rearing, Higher Educational Institutes

Malur* 27,815 Clay tile-and-brick industry, Small-scale

industries, Business

Bangarpet* 38703 Close to KGF's BEML, Mostly depends upon jobs in B'lore

Hosur* 84,394 Industrial Hub

Chikballapur* 54,968 Flowers, Horticulture, Silk Rearing, Higher

Education Institutes

Doddaballapur* 71,606 Silk Weaving, Handlooms, Apparel Industrial

Park

Tumkur 305,821 Produces millet, rice, pulses, arecanut and oil

seeds. Industrial hub producing coarse cotton cloths, woolen blankets, ropes, watches etc.

* - 2001 Census Data

5.7 Scope for upward mobility of poor and economic weaker

sections

If CRS is implemented in rightly, it will facilitate affordable access to schools/colleges, industries and businesses thereby helping people from lower

economic strata to help themselves to move upward. Greater education means more opportunities for better jobs. Better jobs mean more monthly income, i.e., opportunity for greater prosperity. Looking at the potential of economic prosperity

accrual due to CRS, it is not wrong to say CRS has the potential to be a project for poverty alleviation in rural and urban areas of Bengaluru.


37

6 Highlights

100+ stops

675 is the possible number of services per day on all routes suggested for

optimum efficiency

440 Kilometers of mass transit system network

20,00,000 is the carrying capacity per day

48,00,000 is the number of people in the catchment areas covered by

the current SWR tracks

33% is the percentage of the population in the catchment areas who need

access to a local station

SPV is the way to go for rolling out commuter services with all stakeholders

being a part of this entity working together to make this a success


38

7 Appendix – A: The train ride that turned an eye opener

First Praja train ride meet report by Pranav Jha, Founder Praja.in

On the morning of May 8, 2010, Five of us – Muralidhar Rao, Pranav Jha, Manjari,

Naveen and Satya – travelled on a local commuter train to Hosur to experience firsthand the feasibility of the Commuter Rail System (CRS). Ah! Ufff!. What an eye

opener. Easily the best Praja meeting of all. I am so lost for words here. So would be IDS, Murali, Naveen and Manjari you bet.

There was no one around to give us our tickets at Belundur Station. But the counter opened by the time train arrived. 6 Rs per person for a ride till Hosur. IDS paid Rs

10 from Hebbal to Hosur. How much would you be willing to pay for a comfortable smoke and traffic-free ride from Hebbal to Hosur?

Sathya took the train from Hebbal. Naveen, Manjari and myself got on to it at Belandur station at 7:10. Murali joined us near Sarjapur Road at about 7:20.

We were at Hosur station by around 7:50. Had our morning coffee there as the engine changed ends. Return ride started at 8:10 am. We were back at Belandur

station by 8:45 or so.

“But all in all, after watching clean and empty train, and nice little stations, all so

close from the busy corridors and suburbs of Bangalore, we were wondering why

this magnificent option was underutilized while we all debate public transportation?”


39

Stations Distance

Yeshwantpur 0.0km

Gokula Extension 4.1km

Lottegolahalli 1.4km

RMV Extn (D Rajagopal Rd) 1.6km

Hebbal 1.3km

Guddadahalli 1.1km

Kanakanagar 1.3km

Nagavara Main rd 1.4km

Kadugondhalli 1.1km

Banaswadi 1.3km

Kamanahalli Rd (IOC Flyover) 1.0km

Kasturinagar (near SAIL) 1.5km

Benniganahalli 1.2km

TOTAL 18.3km

Yeswantpur - Benniganahalli

Stations Distance

Yelahanka Jn 0.0km

Kenchanhalli East 2.2km

MVIT /Ganganahalli 4.1km

Bettahalsoor 2.1km

Doddajala 4.3km

NH-7 /BIAL trumpet Interchange 3.7km

Devanahalli 7.1km

Avatihalli 6.8km

Venkatgirikote 3.0km

Nandi Hills 6.5km

Chikkballapur south (SJCIT) 2.8km

Chikballapur 3.6km

TOTAL 46.2km

Yelahanka - Chickballapur

Stations Distance


Kaggadasapura (near Railway Cross) 2.1km

Karthik Nagar (east of ORR) 2.6km

Varthur Rd (Marathalli bridge) 1.8km

Bellandur Rd 2.5km

Karmalarama 3.3km

Sarjapur Rd (just past level crossing) 1.1km

Heelalige 10.9km

Anekal road 10.5km

Hosur 13.4km

TOTAL 48.2km

Benninganahalli - Hosur

Stations Distance


Channasandra 2.2km

Horamavu (near main rd) 1.8km

Hennur 1.8km

Bagalur rd cross 1.8km

Thanisandra 2.1km

Jakkur East 3.0km

Nehru Nagar (NH-7 Jn) 2.0km

Yelahanka Jn 1.4km

TOTAL 16.1km

Benniganahalli - Yelahanka

Stations Distance

Yelahanka Jn 0.0km

Kenchanhalli West 2.2km

Naganahalli 1.6km

Rajankunte 5.0km

Doddaballapur Ind Area (middle) 8.3km

Doddaballapur 3.2km

TOTAL 20.3km

Yelahanka - Dodballapur

Stations Distance

Yeshwantpur 0.0km

HMT 3.2km

Jalahalli West (Near Jalahalli Main Rd) 1.8km

Chikkabanavara 2.9km

Soldevanahalli 2.9km

Golhalli 9.9km

Bhairanayakanhalli 6.6km

Dodbele 4.4km

Muddalingahalli 6.9km

Nidvanda 4.4km

Dobbspet 1.0km

Hirehalli 8.5km

Kyatsandra 6.1km

Vijaynagar (Siddaganga) 2.8km

Tumkur 2.6km

TOTAL 64.0km

Yeswantpur - Tumkur

Stations Distance

Yeshwantpur 0.0km

Gokula Extension 4.1km

Lottegollahalli 1.4km

Kodigehalli 1.6km

Jakkur West (Allalasandra main rd) 1.6km

Yelahanka south (NH7 /Level crossing) 1.7km

Yelahanka Jn 2.0km

TOTAL 12.4km

Yeswantpur - Yelahanka

Existing Stations

Proposed Stations

8 Appendix – B: Proposed CRS Stops/Halts


40

Stations Distance

Yeshwantpur 0.0km

Subramanyanagar (Milk colony) 1.7km

Malleswaram 2.7km

City 2.7km

Binnypet (Bus stand) 2.3km

Chord Road 2.2km

Nayandahalli 2.9km

Jnana Bharati (BU) 1.4km

Rajarajeshwari nagar (RVCE) 2.3km

Kengeri 1.2km

NICE Rd (Southwest) 1.8km

Kumbalgodu (Rajarajeswari Dentl /Engg) 4.1km

Hampapura (WonderLa) 3.2km

Hejjala 1.9km

Bidadi 6.4km

Ketohalli 8.3km

Ramnagaram 6.5km

TOTAL 49.9km

Yeswantpur - Ramnagaram

Stations Distance


KR Puram 1.6km

Hoodi (Main rd cross) 4.7km

Sadarmangal (Kodigehalli rd cross) 2.0km

Whitefied 2.6km

Devangothi 7.8km

Malur 12.2km

Byatrayanahalli 8.8km

Tyakal 6.0km

Maralahalli 5.8km

Bangarpet Jn 6.2km

TOTAL 57.7km

Benniganahalli - Bangarpet

Existing Stations

Proposed Stations

All distances are

approximate

Ramangaram - Mandya Stations

Distance

Ramanagaram 0.0km

Chanapatna 6.9km

Settihalli 6.12km

Nidaghatta H 5.23km

Maddur 9.06km

Hanakere 10.11km

Mandya 7.78km

Total 45.2 Km


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9 Appendix – C: Operational Cost & Profitability

Here are some back-hand calculations to demonstrate the financial viability of proposed commuter rail service in Bengaluru, aka Namma Railu. Assumptions - Initial ridership – 1.5 Lakhs

Bengaluru CRS

Total # of Proposed services per day = 160 Total # of Rakes (6-Car) required to cover 6 routes = 24

Then, each rake would do i.e., 160/24 = 6.66 services per day.

The average distance per route per each service is 65 Km (376/6). Therefore, each rake per day would cover a distance of = 65 x 6.66 = 433 Kms.

Operational Expenses

Based on Hyderabad MMTS RTI Information, the average cost of fuel per KM per

rake is = Rs. 44. Based on Rs. 44 pkm rate,

Fuel Cost for one rake per day = 44 x 433 = 19052.

MMTS reports the per rake total per day operational cost excluding the Fuel cost is = Rs.88,553 Assuming this to be the same for Bengaluru CRS,

Total cost of operation per rake per day including fuel cost = 88553 + 19052 = Rs.

1,07,607

For 24 rakes, total operational cost would be = 24 X 107607 = Rs. 25,82,568 ~= 26 Lakhs

If an additional 15% is added to the non-fuel operation cost:

15% x 88553 + 88553 = 13282 + 88553 = Rs. 1,01,836 Adding the fuel cost of Rs. 19052 to the above cost,

= 101836 + 19052 = Rs. 1,20,888.

For 24 rakes, total operational cost would be = 24 X 120888 = Rs.29,01,312

~= Rs. 29 Lakhs

Revenue Generation In the Namma Railu call to action report, a figure of 1.5 lakh ridership is mentioned.

Per MMTS RTI reply, for 6-Car Rake, maximum capacity given is = 1972

Looking at the 1.5 lakh ridership with 160 services, the ridership per rake comes to 50% = 937.5


42

At 50% ridership, @ Rs.20/- as average ticket price, daily earnings would be = 150000 x 20 =

Rs 30,00,000 = Rs. 30 Lakhs

@ Rs 25/- as the average ticket price, daily earnings would be = 150000 x

25 = Rs.37,50,000 ~= Rs. 37.5 lakhs Revenue From other sources:

MMTS reported the daily earnings from Advertisement = Rs. 55,000 MMTS reported daily earnings from Parking = Rs.65,000

Note: Comparable earnings for Bengaluru CRS are not being computed at this time.

Conclusion

The above computations are based on 50% occupancy and MMTS costs. This goes without saying that if the SPV for Bengaluru CRS is executed and operationalized

properly with good integration with other public transports services and last mile connectivity, higher ridership revenue can be achieved. Along with aggressive

marketing approach, non-ridership revenue can be exploited. The word 'Profit' here doesn't mean very high yield, which could put a burden on

ridership cost. Here profit is meant to be very modest that would take care of any additional expenditure like higher fuel cost, service improvements and technological

improvements.


43

Glossary ABS Automated Block Signaling BBMP Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike BCRAL Bengaluru Commuter Rail Authority Limited

BIA Bengaluru International Airport BMLTA Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority

BMRC Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation BMRDA Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority BMTC Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation

CRS Commuter Rail Service CTTP Comprehensive Traffic and Transport Plan

DBP Devanahalli Business Park DEMU Diesel Electric Multiple Unit EMU Electric Multiple Unit

EPIP Export Promotion Industrial Park GoK Government of Karnataka

HSRL High Speed Rail Link IDD Infrastructure Development Department IR Indian Railways

ITIR Information Technology Investment Region ITPL Information Technology park Ltd

KIADB Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board KUIFDC Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation MEMU Mainline Electric Multiple Unit

MMTS Multi Modal Transport System MRVC Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation

O&M Operations & Maintenance ORR Outer Ring Road

PT Public Transport RITES Rail India Technical and Economic Society ROB Road Over Bridge

RUB Road Under Bridge RVNL Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd

SPV Special Purpose Vehicle SWR South Western Railway


44

References McKinsey Global Institute – India’s Urban Awakening: Building Inclusive cities,

sustaining economic growth, April 2010

Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science – Greater Bangalore:

Emerging Urban Heat Island, January 2010

Infrastructure Development Department, Government of Karnataka – Railways

Infrastructure plan, Karnataka, 2009

Government of India, Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) – Indian Railways Vision

2020, December 2009

Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, Government of Indian Enterprise, FAQ’s, 2008

RITES Ltd – 2012 Report on ‘Implementation of Commuter Rail Service in Bengaluru’

Praja.in (www.praja.in) – Commuter Rail Project Wiki, discussions & contributions

from members, 2007-2010

Praja.in (www.praja.in) – “Call to Action Report – Bengaluru Commuter Rail

Service”, 2010.

HLB Decision Economics Inc – “The Socio-Economic Benefits of Transit in Wisconsin”,

Dec 2003.




45

Namma Railu Network Map


46

About Praja-RAAG (Research, Analysis and Advocacy Group)

Praja-RAAG is a think tank of online citizen group “Praja.in”, Bangalore.

"praja.in" (PRAJA, for short) is an e-platform of over 8,000 (registered) citizens,

largely 'techies' of Bangalore, participating in informed debates over various issues that help identify possible solutions to burning issues and civic problems. Ideas for

solutions are then pursued ‘on the ground’ through PRAJA-RAAG (Research, Analysis and Advocacy Group).

Praja.in aims to be a bridge between those who serve us and those amongst us who

care and want to participate. Towards that end, it has established an Internet driven

community to help make the connection at local levels. It intends to be a networking

platform for active and concerned citizens.

Praja.in, April 2013

http://praja.in/en/nammarailu

http://praja.in/en/nammarailu

bengaluru suburban rail service - a promise of growth beyond bengaluru

Environment

promise of growth

new identified stations

growth centers

rites report

blue print of namma

upgraded stations

basic commuter amenities

growth center paradigm