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BENGALURU COMMUTER RAIL SERVICE
Compiled By
Khader Basha Syed
Praja – RAAG (Research, Analysis and Advocacy Group)
www.praja.in
NAMMA RAILU
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond 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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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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.”
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
15
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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
18
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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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
CRS Metro Monorail HSRL
Network Length (in Km)
Network Length
(in Kms)
0
5
10
15
20
25
CRS Metro Monorail HSRL
Daily Ridership (in Lakhs)
Daily Ridership
(in Lakhs)
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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.
0.00
5.00
10.00
15.00
20.00
25.00
30.00
35.00
40.00
45.00
Poverty Level ( % )
Poverty Level ( % )
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
34
5.2 Cost comparison with Bangalore Metro Rail
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
CRS Metro Monorail HSRL
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
CRS Metro Monorail HSRL
Total Cost (in Crores)
Total Cost (in
Crores)
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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?
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond 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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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?”
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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
Benniganahalli 0.0km
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
Benniganahalli 0.0km
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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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
Benniganahalli 0.0km
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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
41
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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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.
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
45
Namma Railu Network Map
Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru
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

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Bengaluru Suburban Rail Service - A Promise of Growth Beyond Bengaluru

  • 1. BENGALURU COMMUTER RAIL SERVICE Compiled By Khader Basha Syed Praja – RAAG (Research, Analysis and Advocacy Group) www.praja.in NAMMA RAILU
  • 2. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 1
  • 3. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 2 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
  • 4. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 3 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
  • 5. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 4 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.
  • 6. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 5 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.
  • 7. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 6 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.
  • 8. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 7 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.
  • 9. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 8 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.
  • 10. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 9 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.”
  • 11. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 10 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.
  • 12. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 11 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.
  • 13. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 12 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
  • 14. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 13 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
  • 15. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 14  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
  • 16. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 15 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
  • 17. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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.
  • 18. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 17 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
  • 19. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 18 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
  • 20. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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.
  • 21. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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
  • 22. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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
  • 23. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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.
  • 24. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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.
  • 25. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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
  • 26. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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.
  • 27. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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.
  • 28. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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
  • 29. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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 CRS Metro Monorail HSRL Network Length (in Km) Network Length (in Kms) 0 5 10 15 20 25 CRS Metro Monorail HSRL Daily Ridership (in Lakhs) Daily Ridership (in Lakhs)
  • 30. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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.
  • 31. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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. 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00 40.00 45.00 Poverty Level ( % ) Poverty Level ( % )
  • 32. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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.
  • 33. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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
  • 34. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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
  • 35. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 34 5.2 Cost comparison with Bangalore Metro Rail 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 CRS Metro Monorail HSRL 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 CRS Metro Monorail HSRL Total Cost (in Crores) Total Cost (in Crores)
  • 36. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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?
  • 37. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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.
  • 38. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond 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
  • 39. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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?”
  • 40. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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 Benniganahalli 0.0km 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 Benniganahalli 0.0km 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
  • 41. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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 Benniganahalli 0.0km 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
  • 42. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 41 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
  • 43. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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.
  • 44. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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
  • 45. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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.
  • 46. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 45 Namma Railu Network Map
  • 47. Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service – The Promise of growth beyond Bengaluru 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