Construction has gathered pace to transform Yeshwantpur Junction into a world-class railway station.
While the Rs 377-crore project aims to give passengers an airport-like experience, it doesn’t include a long-pending proposal to enhance train-handling capacity at Karnataka’s second-busiest railway station.
Last month, the South Western Railway (SWR) said it would discontinue a special weekly train that links Yeshwantpur with Murdeshwar in coastal Karnataka. Authorities cited pit-line constraints at Yeshwantpur for the decision.
Passengers have long complained about how several inbound trains stop just before Yeshwantpur because no platform is vacant at the railway station.
Even more painfully, a proposal to build a skywalk connecting the railway and metro stations at Yeshwantpur has been gathering dust for nine years now.
Getting in and out of the railway station is a hassle. Passengers using the main entry (market side) jostle with hawkers and cab/auto drivers. Those using the Tumakuru Road entry have to overcome multiple hurdles. Things could get really tiring if they have to take the bus or metro.
The redevelopment plan will solve some of these problems but not all.
Aneesh Hegde, Chief Public Relations Officer, SWR, said elevated roads being constructed under the project would decongest the area in front of the station as they would directly take drop-off/departure traffic at the air concourse level.
The station entrance is congested because of the convergence of arrival and departure traffic. There is no dedicated parking space for vehicles that pick up passengers or drop them off, he explained.
The construction of the air concourse and elevated roads will segregate arrival and departure traffic, he added.
The project has picked up pace in recent weeks with soil testing, survey and excavation for the multi-level car park completed, he said.
Hegde clarified that yard remodelling works, including the addition of more platforms and pit-lines, were not part of the project.
Kusuma Hariprasad, Additional Divisional Railway Manager (Administration), Bengaluru, SWR, confirmed the proposal to add five more platforms but gave no details.
She said the plan to build the skywalk to connect the railway and metro stations was being finalised. However, the work would have to be carried out by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).
There is also no plan to build a bus stop within the station area even though Yeshwantpur is a major transit hub. Only autos and cabs will be provided with pickup/drop-off points, according to the SWR. Railway activists say the huge money could have been better spent.
M N Krishna Prasad of the Karnataka Railway Vedike said the redevelopment project would actually “inconvenience” passengers because shoppers and other visitors would crowd the station area.
“We need more ticket counters, better PA and coach position systems and clean station premises,” he said. “The redeveloped station might look good but it wouldn’t really benefit passengers.”
Prasad said Yeshwantpur should get at least two more platforms or pit-lines, preferably the latter, because adequate land was available.
He said two pit-lines could be moved from KSR Bengaluru to Yeshwantpur. “This will free up space at KSR Bengaluru for building two more platforms there,” he added.