Get set to take a train ride to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in 30 minutes, bypassing all the traffic on Airport Road, in less than two months. A halt station is coming up right at the KIA boundary, ready for completion by the first week of February.
In the next 15 days, work on a 600-metre platform is likely to the completed. Funded and executed by the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), the halt station has already been approved by the South Western Railway.
Once commissioned, the halt station — located on the north western periphery of the KIA campus — will be linked to the KIA terminals by shuttle buses. BIAL has already announced that it will operate its own shuttle services to help commuters and airport workers cover the 3.5-km distance in less than 10 minutes.
Currently, only three trains ply on the single-track railway line passing through the proposed halt station.
One train ply between Channapatna and Kolar, a second train linking Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Bengaluru City, and a third between Devanahalli and Yeshwantpur.
The Railways recently approved a fourth train, a DEMU service, linking Whitefield, Chikkaballapur and Kolar. This is expected to commence its service within a week.
“Four trains up and four trains down will be a good beginning. This line’s capacity can be doubled if a crossing facility comes up either at the KIA halt station or Doddajala,” says urban rail analyst Sanjeev Dyamannavar.
The Railways have reportedly proposed electrification of the Yelahanka–Devanahalli line along a 30 km stretch. Once this project, estimated to cost about Rs 30 crore, is completed, more trains could be introduced. “New services during the rush hours and around 7 am, 3 pm and 11 pm, will benefit both airport staffers and commuters,” he notes.
Although a Metro link to the airport has been proposed, it could take years. But once the Baiyappanahalli rail terminal opens, a train service to Devanahalli via KIA halt station could help commuters switch from Metro to a dedicated airport train.