Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has signed two MoUs- one with South Western Railways for the construction of the Kempegowda International Airport Railway Station (Halt), and the other with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to establish the 4.95 km airport section of the ORR-Airport Metro which would see the establishment of two metro stations.
The service providers joined hands on September 08 in the presence of Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Minister of State for Railways Suresh Channabasappa Angadi who joined via video mode, senior bureaucrats of the state government, top functionaries of Railways, BMRCL and BIAL to take forward their joint efforts by way of a unique Public Private Partnership (PPP) with an innovative financing mode.
Speaking on the occasion, B S Yediyurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka said, “All agencies of the state and central governments and stakeholders in the city should work in tandem towards the goal of the comprehensive and integrated multi-modal connectivity infrastructure for the new century as set by Hon’ble Prime Minister in his address to the Nation on the 74th Independence Day.”
The Chief Minister congratulated BIAL and BMRCL for working out this innovative way of financing the much-needed mobility infrastructure for the city. He thanked the Government of India for supporting the project as per the Metro Policy 2017 by way of equity and long-term external loans from multilateral and bilateral development agencies.
“There have been relentless efforts of all agencies of the state and centre and various stakeholders, including BIAL, working in tandem towards the dream of improving public transportation infrastructure, which will boost our economy and facilitate growth of the nation,” said Suresh Angadi, Minister of State for Railways.
The construction of the railway station is near completion and is scheduled to be operationalising shortly. BIAL is constructing the station and once completed, it will be handed over to the Railways who will look after its operationalisation and maintainence. BIAL will provide free shuttle service from the Airport Halt Station to the terminal and other parts of the Airport, as per the schedule of the train services.
Meanwhile, BMRCL will construct the Airport Metro section, along with civil, electro-mechanical, other associated facilities, works and related assets, whereas BIAL will develop, manage and maintain the two metro stations that will be located within the Airport’s boundary. The civil work on the Airport metro section is likely to commence in March 2021.
“At BIAL, we are extremely excited to participate in enabling metro connectivity to and from Bangalore Airport, creating the potential for easy access between Bengaluru and the Airport. There is an increasing need to offer seamless experiences, and BIAL is committed to offering travel options to simplify the passenger journey,” said Hari Marar, MD & CEO, BIAL.
“We are extremely happy to have BIAL’s support for the vision of sustainable and efficient transport for all as set in the Comprehensive Mobility Plan formulated by Bangalore Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA). We are committed to and is working actively to add 128 km of new metro network in the coming five years”, said Ajay Seth, Managing Director, BMRCL.
This airport section is a part of the total 56 km metro line named ‘ORR-Airport Metro’ from Central Silk Board Junction to Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru Terminals via KR Puram and Hebbal. It is being established by BMRCL at a total estimated cost of Rs 14,844 crores and is likely to serve 7.8 lakh commuters daily.
The Metro connectivity to BLR Airport, likely to be commissioned by December 2024, would provide a sustainable and efficient mode of transport to the residents and business commuters from all parts of the city, facilitating the city to realise its economic potential and ease traffic congestion on the roads leading to the Airport. The two stations within the Airport boundaries are likely to see the daily ridership of 0.6 lakh commuters in 2024, increasing to 1.88 lakh commuters by 2041.
