Railway minister Goyal clears Bengaluru suburban rail project issues

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Bengaluru may soon see suburban trains chugging along.

Union railway minister Piyush Goyal met Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru. Both discussed the issues that have been impeding the Bengaluru suburban rail project. This project is expected to drastically reduce travelling time, especially for people from areas such as Kengeri working in Whitefield, Bellanduru and nearby places.

Goyal announced measures to get the project moving again. He said that this project was in discussion for nearly 20 years. He had ordered a feasibility study and received the report in a moth. The central government included this project in the 2018-19 budget, subject to the Karnataka government approval. The project is expected to cost about INR 20,000 crore.

Goyal added that this project will be a reality, for which they made a policy change: the cost-bearing ratio was 80% to the state government and 20% to the central government. This was changed to 50%-50%.

Goyal added that the Railways would lease the land to Bengaluru at a token cost of INR 1 only.  He said Bengaluru has waited long enough for this project.

Kumaraswamy said that he felt very happy at this project being fast-tracked. He has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay the foundation for the suburban railway.