A statewide High Speed Rail (HSR) network might be the best bet to redistribute growth, now concentrated around Bengaluru. But can this be achieved without addressing issues of route fixation, station location, interoperability and other mobility infrastructure?
Ashish Varma from the Indian Institute of Science posed these questions to a gathering of veteran engineers here to spark a debate on cost-efficient and fast models of mobility. "We also need to decide whether stations should be in the city centre or periphery; whether the tracks should be on the surface, underground or overground; on pricing, land acquisition and more."
For Varma, the HSR was any day a much more sustainable option than high speed highways. "A high speed highway between Bengaluru and Mysuru will only introduce more cars, congesting both the cities. HSR can open the possibility of interconnected clusters with good last-mile options," he pointed out.
The switch to HSR had helped Japan, France, Germany, Spain and China make giant strides in redistributing growth and propel development in smaller cities. "Enhanced accessibility through HSR can also trigger the redistribution of population. Businesses can be set up in these smaller growth centres, and inter-city travel can be as fast as 30 minutes."
Japan had introduced its HSR network in 1964. "That first line had 100 million passengers in one year. It had a significant impact on social connect, the economy and the environment. A study established that the HSR emitted only 16% carbon dioxide of the equivalent journey by car," recalled Varma.
A joint study anchored by IISc in 2013 had mooted the proposal for a robust HSR network for Karnataka. As part of the State Task Force on Mobility, Varma is pushing for this system with a clear objective: to boost economic opportunities in other towns and cities of Karnataka.