Even though more than 130 trains arrive and depart the City Railway Station in Majestic daily, no trains have been shifted to the newly opened Baiyappanahalli rail terminal as of now. But, some trains are likely to be shifted in the coming months as the commuter footfall at the city station exceeds two lakh per day and the congestion gets worse in the evenings.
DH reporters visited KSR station, the city’s busiest, and interacted with commuters, porters, railway staff and shopkeepers and commuters to understand the congestion issues, and whether shifting trains to the new terminal will help them or not.
The congestion starts right at the entrance for vehicles, where a long line of autorickshaws and cabs block the way. Ravi, a vehicle parking staff says, “Vehicular congestion happens mainly in the evenings as cabs and autos are parked randomly outside the station. There are no such problems inside the prescribed parking area, which is also safe.”
Another packed place is the unreserved ticket counter, where commuters even squat on the floors awaiting their turn. Even though the railways have installed digital ticket machines, they are not user-friendly and most of the people are not tech-savvy to utilise the services.
Of the two-foot overbridges inside the station, only one is used by most commuters as it is near the entrance and another one is located at a distance and is almost empty.
More crowds in the station is not a problem for the stall owners on the platforms, though. “If some trains are shifted to Baiyyappanahalli, then it will definitely affect my business as the footfall in the station is going to reduce,” says G S Kantharaju, a shopkeeper, who has been running his business for over 10 years.
Babu, an experienced porter, has this to say: “To reduce the crowding, passenger trains should be shifted to the new terminal, and express trains should start from Majestic. Now, most passenger trains start from Majestic, which carry comparatively more passengers than express trains, causing congestion here.” He adds that because of local train passengers, express train commuters face issues.
There is enough parking space inside the station premises and it is directly connected with KSR Metro station. Latha Ramesh, a frequent traveller between Bengaluru and Chennai notes that the station has better bus and Metro connectivity. “I stay in Koramangala, and as of now, there is no Metro connectivity to that side. So going to the Baiyyappanahalli terminal will take time amid the traffic with all this luggage.”
“If railways want to start trains from Baiyyappanahalli, then they should increase the number of services instead of merely shifting trains starting from here,” she adds.
Rahul Babu, a traveller to Kerala says: “The City railway station is convenient for me as I am staying in Rajaji Nagar. I can get the Metro from there and it directly reaches this railway station.”
He adds, “Baiyyappanahalli terminal does not have easy Metro connectivity as convenient as the City station.”
Dominic, a resident of Lingarajapura who travels occasionally to Tamil Nadu in trains, says: “I usually take the train from Cantonment railway station, but even if trains get shifted to Baiyyappanahalli, it would be helpful as my place is not too far from there. But Majestic and Yeswanthpura stations are very far for me. It will take Rs 400 to reach Yeswanthpura from my place, and the road to Majestic is always full of traffic.”
There is now talk among the railway staff that the express trains from the city station will likely be shifted to the new Baiyyappanahalli terminal as there are more platforms and space available. But no decision has been taken yet.