Railway Budget: What happened to commuter rail, asks Karnataka

Mamata Banerjee, in her last railway budget, had said if any state government came forward with a request for a commuter rail, it would be considered. Despite the announcement and an assurance from Union minister of state for railways KH Muniyappa, who said a commuter rail would be considered for Bangalore, suburban rail continues to be a dream for the city, which has been facing enormous traffic problems for over a decade.

What is disheartening is that the railway budget did not even mention a commuter rail for the city, though Mumbai has got 75 new services, Chennai 18 and Kolkata 14 to ‘enhance’ suburban connectivity. This is despite the fact that the state government made a formal proposal to the central government recently.

While some experts are surprised by railway minister Dinesh Trivedi’s omission, others are too disillusioned with the railways in the first place and feel the lack of a commuter rail is only one of the many disappointments.

“It is surprising that there has not been even a mention of a suburban rail for Bangalore, which we have been asking for long. Bangalore has the necessary infrastructure to have a suburban rail. A huge investment is not required in the city,” said Prakash Mandoth, former member, Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee, South and South Western Railway.

Considering that the central government has not taken any initiative to provide a commuter rail for the city, Ashwin Mahesh, CEO, Mapunity, feels that the state government should do it on its own.

“There has been no response from the ministry of railways. I think it is time we took it up ourselves,” he said.