Bengaluru Suburban Rail: SWR Transfers 115 Acre Land For Kanaka Corridor, Commits To Approve Airport Line Alignment

In a significant move towards the development of the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP), the South Western Railway (SWR) has handed over 115.472 acres of land to the Railway Infrastructure Development Company Limited (K-RIDE) on a long-term lease.

This land will facilitate the construction of a 46.88-km railway line linking Heelalige in the south to Rajanukunte in the north.

The handover also saw a reduction in land allocated for Corridor 2, downsized from 157.07 acres to 85.707 acres. Both land agreements were signed on 2 April, as confirmed by a senior K-RIDE official.

Yogesh Mohan, Divisional Railway Manager for Bengaluru stated "The groundwork has now begun after clearing all hurdles".

With the clearance of these hurdles and SWR's approval of the revised alignment plan for Corridor 4 in January, the groundwork is now underway. K-RIDE is actively working on relocating utilities, resolving other physical obstacles, and acquiring private land for Corridor 4.

The proposed corridor will span 47 km, connecting Heelalige in the south to Rajanukunte in the north. After a prolonged negotiation, both agencies have reached a 'consensus' on the required extent of rail land for the project.

The ambitious Corridor 4, featuring 19 stations, is slated for completion by December 2026, despite the slow progress observed.

K-RIDE had awarded L&T Limited the contract for designing and building viaducts for Corridor 4 (Kanaka Line) on 30 December 2023. However, delays in alignment approval and land agreements with the railways had prevented the issuance of the notice to proceed (NTP), delaying the commencement of groundwork.

Currently, work is progressing solely on the Mallige Line, which runs from Chikkabanavara to Byappanahalli, among the four designated corridors.

Additionally, K-RIDE has submitted a revised alignment plan for Corridor 1 (KSR Bengaluru-Devanahalli/Airport, 41.4 km) to the SWR's Bengaluru division. Mohan confirmed the submission, stating, "We are currently reviewing the alignment details."

Earlier in February, Minister for Infrastructure Development M B Patil announced a revised deadline for Corridor 1, split into two phases for better management. The Yelahanka-Devanahalli section is set for completion by December 2026, while the KSR Bengaluru-Yelahanka section aims for December 2027.

BSRP Project

The BSRP project plan comprises four corridors with a total length of 148.17 km. The project cost is estimated at Rs 15,677 crore.

These corridors include KSR Bengaluru City to Devanahalli (corridor 1 — 41.4 km), Baiyappanahalli to Chikkabanavara (corridor 2 — 25.01 km), Kengeri to Whitefield (corridor 3 — 25.01 km), and Heelalige to Rajanukunte (corridor 4 — 46.25 km).

Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 40-month deadline set in June 2022, the Rs 15,767 crore project has faced challenges. Currently, civil work contracts are awarded for only half of the proposed four corridors.