• No trees need to be cut, no new tracks need to be laid, Suburban Rail can be started on existing railway lines!  
• Chennai, Delhi, Lucknow - Kanpur, Hyderabad, Pune have all done it!  And so have, many other cities..

Bengaluru one of the busiest metro cities in India, is choking due to lack of Rapid Mass Transport facilities, causing billions of dollars in loss of productivity, contributing to pollution and stress, and affecting the health and well-being of its residents. Bengaluru's potential and it's population are stifled by the lack of ease of mobility, and the Govt's inability to chart out a multi-modal transit strategy to deal with it.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru's sleeping asset, a century old Rail Network that passes through almost 75% of its geography, has not been utilised to provide a Suburban Rail Network, that could easily address more than half its commute requirements.  This is due to lack of integrated planning, lack of awareness, and a lack of political will.   

YES, BENGALURU CAN HAVE A SUBURBAN RAIL RIGHT AWAY, IMMEDIATELY, WITHOUT ANY DELAY, IF ONLY THE RAILWAYS CAN USE THE EXISTING INFRA, THROUGH INTELLIGENT PLANNING AND EMPOWERING TECHNOLOGY!   

CHENNAI, DELHI, LUCKNOW-KANPUR, HYDERABAD, PUNE.... these are some of the cities that have Suburban Rail on existing railway lines, no separate tracks were installed. They have used existing tracks through intelligent signalling and control rooms, and launched suburban rail service, without announcing any major suburban rail project!   

While in Bengaluru, we have had only announcements of bumper projects for the past few decades, and no service!   It is only in Bengaluru that everything has been complicated to the point where the project itself delayed infinitely!

AND NOW, THE ENVIRONMENT CHALLENGE:

It's been reported that almost 33,000 trees will have to be axed to carry out the announced Suburban rail project that requires additional tracks and a parallel infrastructure.   

https://www.change.org/p/stop-bengaluru-ecocide-97-green-cover-lost-we-cannot-afford-any-more-marakadibedi/u/32590894

A city like Bengaluru that is traumatised by the loss of almost 97% of its green cover, is facing critical change challenges, heat waves, water shortages, etc.,  It cannot afford to lose a single tree. In light of this, the Railway Ministry and the Karnataka Govt need to urgently reconsider the project and look at the solutions in this petition, as the viable as well as a quicker alternative. 

'REAL AND PRESENT' Solution (It is amazingly simple)

THE WHAT:

1. Regular frequency, dependability: 
   • At least One local train every 15 mins during peak hours.
   • At least One local train every 30 mins during non-peak hours.
   • At least One local train every hour between midnight and 4 am.
2. Establish 7 corridors on existing lines, that will address backbone transport for Bengaluru & neighbouring districts: 
   1. MANDYA - BANGARPET 1 (via Majestic, Cantonment, Byappanahalli, KR Puram, Whitefield)
   2. MANDYA - BANGARPET 2 (via Majestic, Yeshwantpur, Hebbal, Byappanahalli, Whitefield)
   3. AIRPORT EXPRESS 1:  CANTONMENT TO KOLAR (via Byappanahalli, Channasandra, Yelahanka, Airport, Devanahalli)   
   4. AIRPORT EXPRESS 2:  MANDYA - KOLAR (via Nayandahalli, Majestic, Yeshwantpur, Yelahanka, Airport,  Devanahalli)
   5. TUMKUR - HOSUR (via Chikkabanawara, Hebbal, Byappanahalli, Karmelaram, Heelalige)
   6. TUMKUR - BANGARPET (via Chikkabanawara, Hebbal, Byappanahalli, KR Puram, Whitefield)
   7. DODDABALLAPUR - BANGARPET (via Yelahanka, Thanisandra, Channasandra, KR Puram, Whitefield)

THE HOW:

Modernise the existing infrastructure by MINOR TECHNOLOGY & Common Sense interventions such as:

1. Automatic Signalling on the entire network.
2. Establishing a Computerised Dedicated Control Room.
3. Cross over points / crossover stations on all sections.
4. Upgrading of all Railway stations and proper access for commuters, with proper facilities.
5. Efficient multi-modal connect with other forms of transport such as buses, metro, etc.,
6. Prioritise Local Trains, shift goods trains to non-peak and night hours, and open up at least four slots every hour on each corridor for local trains!  In the city limits, Local trains should have priority over outstation trains, just as in Mumbai. 
7. With all of the above, create high efficiency, and room for local trains at a minimum 15 minute frequency on all corridors. (or better)

These demands were clearly spelt out in a petition submitted individually to the officials earlier:  bit.ly/BengaluruSuburbanNow

WE DON'T NEED MONEY, WE NEED BRAINS!

The govt has announced a grand project for Bengaluru, committing thousands of crores of rupees.  But that project is based on creation of new infrastructure, and hence it will take anywhere between 7 - 10 years for it to materialise.  That is if it ever does, because it is caught in bureaucracy again and fund allocations are hard to come by.  And there are bound to be environmental and other objections, which will delay it further. 

Bengaluru requires immediate relief, and only a service launched immediately on existing infrastructure can do that. 

The Railways runs a skeletal Suburban Rail service already, but due to lack of frequency, it is not treated as a reliable mode of transport by the public. 

POSSIBILITIES

The reality is that the South Western Railways has just had a history of bad management and allocation of resources.  We have unfortunately learnt to accept their low benchmarks as normal, and we say they don’t have the capacity to run more trains.  How can we accept their poor standards as the only ideal?

In Mumbai, the railways runs a train every 3 mins on every line, but at the same time, in Bengaluru, in most corridors, there might be just one train in 3 hours or more. 

Why this contrast in performance? This monumental inefficiency and waste of resources, only by the Bengaluru Sub Division of Railways, and why is it being condoned and why do we find excuses to pass it off as normal?

What we are calling for is a transformation of the management of South Western Railways, and challenge it to improve its performance against the benchmark of highly efficient divisions like the Mumbai division. 

1. An immediate target benchmark for performance be issued to the Bengaluru division, and ask them to upgrade their game, immediately.
2. Ask the division to submit their requirements to enhance their performance of trips on each railway line, against a target of one train every 5 mins, if not every 3 mins like in Mumbai.
3. Let them submit a list of their choking points, and solutions that are required to overcome these, and what support they require from the govt.
4. Ensure that they are allotted whatever support is required in terms of budgets, infrastructure support, and government assistance.

If they can match this target set for them, then they can very easily meet the demand that we have in our petition, ie. to set up a functional local train service in 7 corridors, at the frequency of one train every 15 mins, in a matter of months.

THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. It is just pure common sense and all it requires is some sound management effort, and the full support of the State and Union Govts. 

HOLD PUBLIC CONSULTATION:    

If the Railways says that it is unable to meet this challenge, ask them to hold a public consultation, we CITIZENS will offer solutions to make up for their lack of imagination and ability, to help them along.

WHY BENGALURU NEEDS THIS URGENTLY:

This solution, if implemented, will completely transform the mobility landscape of Bengaluru and offer both residents of Bengaluru and the neighbouring districts a viable alternative to road transport and will lead to decongestion of our roads, and cleaning up atmospheric pollution to a large extent, and make the lives of residents and commuters much better. 

Good for the Local Economy too:

The Suburban Rail services, will also create a new economy for last mile solution providers such as autos, taxis, share autos and share taxis, mini buses, BMTC, at every single railway station, and overall help the economy by providing more livelihoods to city residents.

Citizens' Demand:

Please direct the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE) to halt the present Suburban Rail Project, and consider the above solution as a quicker, better, and environment friendly alternative. 

CALL TO ACTION

CITIZENS, PLEASE TWEET OUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS USING THIS LINK:  https://ctt.ac/O028t