Engage experts in KRIDE to fast-track Bengaluru suburban rail project Vaishnaw to Karnataka govt

     Ahmedabad, Mar 14 (PTI) Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has requested the Karnataka government to transform Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (KRIDE) by engaging people with high technical expertise to speed up the Bengaluru suburban railway project.
     "A company called KRIDE, which the state government controls, is doing the Bengaluru suburban railway project. It doesn't have people with high technical expertise. I request the Karnataka government to engage such experts so that the project work can be expedited," Vaishnaw, who was in Ahmedabad recently, told PTI.
     "Bengaluru suburban railway project is very important for the people but unfortunately KRIDE at present lacks the kind of expertise it should have. We need people like E Sreedharan who transformed the public transport system in the country," he added.
     In June 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while talking about the project, said, "We will work hard to fulfil the dreams of the people of Bengaluru in the next 40 months which were pending for the last 40 years."
     Almost a year later in May 2023, the BJP and its allies lost the state assembly election and the Congress, which won the election, formed the government.
     Recently, when the state government announced the revised deadline and extended its project completion date from December 2025, as promised by PM Modi, to December 2027, BJP MP from Bengaluru South Tejasvi Surya questioned the extension and blamed the state government for the delay.
     Vaishnaw too feels that KRIDE lacks the competence to finish it on time.
     "The state government needs to understand that railway is a technical subject and bring technical people in KRIDE," he said.
     According to a press statement issued by the Railway Ministry in January 2021, the Centre had approved the ministry's proposal for the construction of the suburban rail project in October 2020.
     It further said that the project, which envisages the construction of four suburban rail corridors with a total route length of 148.17 km, would be implemented by Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (KRIDE), a joint venture company set up by the Ministry of Railways with the Government of Karnataka as a special purpose vehicle.
     Proposing to complete the project in six years at an estimated cost of Rs 15,767 crore, the January 2021 release said, "The project envisions the creation of a dedicated suburban railway system in Bengaluru City to provide a safe, accessible and comfortable mode of public transport. The project will ease traffic congestion, enhance rural-urban connectivity and provide a cleaner mobility solution to lakhs of daily commuters."
     "It will provide an economic, efficient and eco-friendly transit alternative to the Garden City of Bengaluru. It will alleviate the massive transport problem of Bengaluru and link all parts of the city seamlessly.
     "By providing rapid connectivity to Bangalore International Airport, IT hubs and the commercial centres, the rail network will boost productivity and growth by reducing commuting time," it added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)