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TOI - BMRC plans for Phase-3 to extend Metro to 250 KM Network!
Written By kbsyed61 - 29 January, 2013
Bangalore CRS Media Reports BMRC mass transit metro Namma Railu Metro Rail
Posting it on behalf of Deepak (dvsquare).
Source - Times Of India "The third coming: Metro says city needs Phase III."
"...The expanding Namma Metro promises to integrate the city, if proposals and plans are anything to go by. Close on the heels of the in-principle approval for Phase II of the project, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) has begun talking about the city needing a Phase III of this mass rapid transit project.
Tweeted BMRC MD N Sivasailam: "Bangalore requires at least 250 kms of metro lines for the present population and city spread. Plans are ready for phase 3. It is the state government's privilege to announce it. It is waiting for GOI approval for phase 2."
"Phase III should ideally connect areas on the ring routes and connect outlying regions with the central business district, commercial hubs and prime work places," said SK Lohia, OSD (urban transport) and ex-officio joint secretary, Union ministry of urban development. Lohia is also a director on the BMRC board.
"...Phase III should ideally connect areas on the ring routes and connect outlying regions with the central business district, commercial hubs and prime work places," said SK Lohia, OSD (urban transport) and ex-officio joint secretary, Union ministry of urban development. Lohia is also a director on the BMRC board.
"...Unlike Phase I, which is almost in place and will be fully operational by the end of 2014, and Phase II which is awaiting formal clearance to shift from the drawing board to becoming a ground reality, Phase III is still in the proposal stage. But enough things are happening at the level of decision-makers and policy analysts.
"It's the prerogative of the state government to announce it (Phase III) which they (state government) will do after the central government clears Phase II for implementation. After the state government gives the nod for Phase III, we will begin with detailed project report (DPR) preparation which will take up to 18 months," Sivasailam told TOI..."
COMMENTS
kbsyed61 - 29 January, 2013 - 22:16
I will believe every word of BMRCL chief in this article. Those who have been closely watching this will agree with me that, for this goal BMRCL has stifled all other mass transit proposals. Idea was to project "Namma Metro" as the biggest wonder of Bengaluru City. What can we say? All the best !
At least some of us saw this coming.When the elected Govt is missing in the state, as it was more interested to save its rule coming to an end, Babudom prevails and we see all these. Here is the missing data that did not get printed in the article:
Phase 1 and 2 - 110 Kms Costing 40,000 Crores
Proposed Phase 3 (140 Kms) will cost another 50K - 60K Crores.
naveen_blr - 30 January, 2013 - 02:24
I would say this is a better option considering there is no end to building roads and expanding them. This would only increase the number of vehicles in Bangalore adding pollution.
srinidhi - 30 January, 2013 - 03:34
With all this they are sure to make blr a living hell at least for a life time!
Unfortunate they are totally ignoring the elephant in the room in the form of CRS..ridiculous!
I have a friend who jokingly said we are living in a bad time..a decade or two earlier or later would have been great to live thru!
So true!
silkboard - 30 January, 2013 - 03:44
Hard to not to leave this comment, but any talk of Commuter Rail would probably be detrimental to Metro Phase-3 asks. So, as much as we would want to say and believe that this is not an either/or thing, Metro/Commuter rail can and need to co-exist, it seems very likely that right now, that is not how "whoever is deciding the mobility spends" is seeing Metro and Commuter Rail.
Syed - perhaps you should reply to that old mail from Sivasailam sir, and make a simple question
- Do you think Commuter Rail is still required, even after Metro Phase-3
- Would Mr Sivasailam be willing to sign on a campaign requesting for a Commuter Rail network to cover wider Bangalore Metro/Satellite area? As BMRC Md, or even if as a private citizen of Bangalore?
- In the meetings to ask for or discuss funding for Metro-3, does Commuter Rail ever come up?
SB aka Pranav
kbsyed61 - 30 January, 2013 - 04:10
This is what Mr. Sivasailam had responded to my response to his earlier email to me:
"...You are quoting me out of context and is irrelevant here.
Projects of this nature are not done in vacuum and must have clearly identified strategies and plans. For project implementation, mere wish and pious intentions are insufficient. It has to be backed up by a DPR and for this purpose, a feasibility study is done to identify alignments that are ripe for taking up in phases. This is an important stage and it has been crossed now. We now have a plan. The plan now has to be put in an implementable framework which is the DPR.
Therefore, I do not share your cynicism. Of course, this development plan competes with other demands in the development program basket all which address the needs of the citizens in one way or the other. In our democratic system, it is the Political administration, who are elected by you and me, who are the final arbiter of things. We have been able to convince the political establishment of the need for CRS and therefore, the matters have moved further. Maybe we should consider things dispassionately looking at the decision making process from the point of view of the political establishment and see whether we would do things differently. Of course, it goes without saying that broadbased political support is essential for any big-ticket development agenda to have salience. This one is no different.
Have Patience. There are lot of people working to make it happen and let us hope that they will succeed.
N Sivasailam
MD BMRCL
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The email contents of which he responded to was:
"...Dear Mr. Sivasailam,
Thanks for taking time to respond to my questions. Your email amply addresses the concerns citizen’s like me about the progress of Proposals for CRS in Bangalore. It clearly gave an idea about your position on CRS project.If you recall, once you had said, “...if there is a will there will be a train and if not you will have feasibility reports...”. It seems your words have come true in CRS. I must admit that after reading the Nov 17th meeting minutes, I am very disappointed with the tardy progress made on CRS front. I had hoped that projects are considered on its merits and needs of the time. The outcome of the Nov 17th, meeting reminds me of these lines: “...Transportation is not a technical Problem. Transportation is not even a financial problem. Transportation is a political problem...”.
In any case, thanks once again for your kind response to my questions.
Best Regards,
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