Much by way of promises, but very little by way of progress to fulfill them. That sums up the story of the Baiyappanahalli railway station.
Some years ago, it was announced that the station would be among the 50 in the country to be developed as world-class terminals. But the project failed to take off. The skywalk project to connect the Baiyappanahalli railway station and the Baiyappanahalli Metro station hangs in balance, much to the inconvenience of passengers.
This year’s budget proposes to develop it as a coaching terminal. But, railway experts and passengers have their doubts.
In the absence of any deadlines for completion of such magnanimous projects, it is unlikely that the vast infrastructure that the station has will be fully utilised any time soon, they say.
This year’s budget proposes to develop Baiyappanahalli station as a coaching terminal to decongest the City station and Yeshwantpur station, both of which are over utilised.
The Baiyappanahalli station which currently handles about 30-40 pairs of train a day is one of the 10 stations to be developed as satellite terminals in big cities to decongest main terminals and serve passengers residing in suburbs.
Railway officials maintain that Baiyappanahalli will be developed as a world-class station with a coaching terminal under the public private partnership model. Running more trains from here will help a large number of commuters, with the Baiyappanahalli Metro station and the Baiyappanahalli railway station being situated cheek by jowl.
Sanjeev, a regular commuter, said, “This station is located very strategically. It has been so many years now that we are hearing that the station will be developed on international lines, but so far, nothing has happened. At least, the South Western Railway (SWR) should start giving stoppage to more trains here so that the existing infrastructure can be optimally utilised”.
A former member of the Railway Consumer Consultative Committee said, “If more trains stop at Baiyappanahalli, those working in IT/BT corridors can get down here and take buses to their destinations, reducing travel time drastically”.
Railway officials said that the pre-feasibility study on developing the station as a satellite station had been entrusted to Chinese Railway Construction Engineering Group after a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Indian Railways and the National Railway Administration of the People’s Republic of China in 2014.
The MoU involves Chinese assistance in training Indian Railways personnel in this area and officials from SWR are expected to join the training in China soon. An official said that as of now, two pit lane works have been completed at Baiyappanahalli station and currently, one MEMU (Multiple Electric Motor Unit) is under construction.