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Train to Airport over High Speed - Prof Sreehari's points

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Written By silkboard - 8 January, 2009

BIAL Bangalore monorail CRS SWR Abide High Speed Rail suggestion HSRL public transport Mobilicity

Proposed BIAL station

Continuing on the proposals to start Trains to BIA on South Western Railway's tracks, some of us got a note from Prof Sreehari where he is arguing for investment on this Railway system (CRS) over the proposed High Speed Rail Link (HSRL). News reports have suggested that HSRL is almost dead. The current action on CRS is likely a related event. Here is the note from Prof Sreehari (see below) with some details:

[Please do pour in your constructive thoughts on the previous thread or this one, more constructive we are, better the chances of being heard. This post is to highlight the support the CRS.concept enjoys]

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Please find herewith attached important information regarding the utilisation of existing Bangalore - Chikkaballapur rail link which can also support BIA passengers without additional cost to State Govt. SWR has come forward to open up BIA traffic along this route with two pairs of trains from this month end. If required, the frequency can be increased. It is better to make use of this opportunity instead of spending Rs. 3,800 crore for HSRL, when a large number of priorities are in pipeline for Bangalore city.

TECHNO-ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF HSRL

-    Is it a priority for Bangalore??

Prof.M.N.Sreehari, Traffic advisor & Consultant, Expert member to Agenda for Bangalore Infrastructure Development, GoK, Bangalore.
 

  1. First of all we have to think whether it is necessary to go for several multimodal options for BIA when a very well laid 6 lane road is available in addition to 4 lane service roads for local traffic.
  2. The proposed cost for HSRL is 3800 crore (130 crore/km), 2500 crore for elevated expressway (without land acquiring cost) etc. just to cater one destination point, i.e. BIA. Is it really worth going for the same?
  3. For the estimated 11 million annual passengers (in an average 30,000 passengers per day and 1200 passengers per hour, distributed round the clock). Is such an uneconomic expenditure warranted? It is quite evident, even after the various proposed projects; most of the trips are shared by road based vehicles as they operate from door to door.
  4. If at all it is to supplement the road traffic, then a monorail is preferable, which is more economical to operate (35 kms at a cost of 85 crore/km as against 130 crore/km for HSRL/Metro). That too, only if the demand exists.
  5. If the State Govt. succumbs to the strong lobbying by HSRL advocating people, later it will have to repent the decision. Hence, it is better not to waste so much of money from exchequer on this cause, when we have other priorities like water supply, sewage, power, road widening, etc.
  6. The existing Bellary road has a V/C ratio of 0.37, which is a very good performance and considering the 10 years growth projection, this value may push to 0.6 or 0.7, which is still good.
  7. If the need arises, monorail is preferable with its lesser cost under PPP model.
  8. In Delhi, A/P link is provided because the same track moves to Gurgaon, which is a highly developed area and it is a major trunk route for traffic. Same need not be adopted here.
  9. Monorail can take 30 minutes (completed in PPP model), with zero pollution  level, without any subsidy, runs on a small column and beam, which can be completed in a few months for the given ridership.
  10. Since Bangalore has a unique identity, problem and solutions, we need not follow any other city’s model.
  11. State Govt. should not patronize for this uneconomic and non viable projects like   HSRL.
  12. Hence, it is more viable  to run trains (without any expenditure) with suitable augmented frequency on the existing rail corridor upto Chikkaballapur and halt at Yerthaganahalli/Doddajala which is near BIA and integrate it with bus transport to BIA.
  13. Passengers can board the buses later to reach BIA using up-ramp (available for vehicles coming from Devanahalli side) to reach airport road.
  14. Existing Chikkaballapur railway line is proposed to be used initially with two pairs of trains, one from city station & another from Bangalore cantt station as assured from SWR without any expenditure from the state. The frequency can be increased based on the demand. About 1000 passengers can be transferred per direction per train, which takes about 60 minutes for one-way trip. Station can be located at Yerthaganahalli, where passengers can get down & take waiting bus to BIA.
  15. The attached drawing indicates the location.

[flickr-photo:id=3179290034,size=o]

COMMENTS

Excellent

s_yajaman - 8 January, 2009 - 09:49

Thank you Mr.Sreehari.  Good to see some sanity prevail and some basic questions being asked.  If the answer then is that HSLR still makes sense, then it is fine.   With due respect to Mr.Sreedharan - but to a man with a hammer everything looks like a nail. 

One point i did not like - "road widening".  Please exorcise that demon as well.  The goal should be to decongest the city centre so that people can reach the airport in reliable times (90 mins from Silkboard Jn give and take 10 mins; 75 mins from Jayanagar 4th block given and take 10 mins; 75 mins from Koramangala give and take 10 mins).  The airport is the tail on the dog.  It cannot wag the dog.  The dog still is the absolutely miserable commuting times within the city.

Some more questions that can be asked

a. At what point does a HSRL make sense?  When the airport reaches a 30 million or 40 million usage?  What would be the fare?  Where should it originate from.  I think one what-if analysis merits consideration.  Based on realistic growth rates when will Bangalore reach a 40 million traffic level - at 16% growth rates it will take 10 years to hit this volume. 

b) At what ariport volume would NH7 be clogged from Yelahanka to City? . Is there a significant cost difference between having tracks and rolling-stock for a 160kmph train and one that goes only 80 kmph?  What is that difference?  Why have we not considered a MSRL?  Does the MSRL work at 20 million traffic projection?  Will this 20 million traffic be the breaking point for NH7 and the break-even point for MSRL?  Essentially what sort of investment will be justified by a ridership of 8-10 million a year at Rs.100-150/ticket and an IRR of 10-12%.  If it is Rs.1000 crores (for argument's sake) - then can we build something in that Rs.1000 crores - Mono/Metro/Surface?  For me if it is unique to airport then govt should not put in tax-payers' money into this project

c. What will it take to extend NICE Peripheral Road till NH7 so that people going to West and South Bangalore can use this.  What will be the cost, etc?  How much load will this take off NH7 from Hebbal? 

d. Get BIAL to open up the east so that SH104 can be used from Old Madras Road.   

e. Get SWR to run a couple of commuter rail trips early morning and late night for benefit of airport employees and passengers who want to use them as well.

f. If they still have 4000 crores to spare - please add a Mono/Metro from BYP to ITPL or from Puttenahalli to E-City via NICE corridor.

We cannot afford Maglev's and other flights of fancy when we don't have money for decent footpaths and proper bus-stops.   

Srivathsa

Hi I think perhaps a

rs - 8 January, 2009 - 08:48

Hi I think perhaps a monorail link to the proposed SWR rail link would be ideal - with an SWR train once an hour or so. It may take a little more time than driving but would cost a lot less and also be a lot cheaper for people to use. Its not clear to me who the target user is in HSRL - airport workers will find it too expensive and business travellers would use taxis by and large - if you can pay 250+local taxi you might as well pay 500 point to point. Leisure travellers would not mind using the local train service even if it takes a little time. Besides, the SWR link would also benefit people going from, say Malleswaram to Yelahanka. Not everything in this city should be catering to people leaving it ;). Newark Airport now has such a thing - monorail to commuter rail - and it is very useful and popular. One could also have a direct train from other towns such as Mysore to the commuter rail station. The HSRL, apart from costing a ridiculous amount, will destroy whatever little greenery that exists now, cause massive traffic problems while being constructed and finally, will benefit only a very small number of people. Frankly, I also think that perhaps the Metro should be extended up to Yelahanka at least - and linked up with the SWR rail. Though I am really glad that Commuter rail seems to be taking off in Bangalore. They should also introduce rail service towards Kengeri from the city/Malleswaram/Yeswantpur. It seems a shame that the existing infrastructure is so massively underused in spite of the great need for it. Ramesh Ramesh

how does it work?

blrsri - 8 January, 2009 - 09:33

Should we always have a sizable population already at a place to connect it with a metro like Sreehari/Sreedharan suggests?

Will metro not spur growth in green field regions?

can we not have few stations for the metro now and few coaches now. We can increase both as the population increases..

I am not for monorail because its non standard and also whos got the guts to pick up on a PPP project with the prevailing market conditions? MAYTAS anyone! :P

Make Yarthanganahalli a TTMC

mcadambi - 8 January, 2009 - 11:04

Ideally, the Yarthanganahalli stop should be converted to a full fledged TTMC. This way many people taking NH 7 towards Andhra Pradesh can catch a bus at that TTMC.

It will be very useful during peak hours. Esp weekends like Friday evening and Saturday evening and the evening before naitonal holidays.

Ideally, if i had to catch a bus to Hyderabad or Ananthpur or any place in Andhra Pradesh via NH-7, i would take the CRS from SBC during peak hours, change at the Yarthanganahalli TTMC. This way the pressure at the Majestic bus station is partially reduced.

Further, should the Peripheral Ring Road come up, it would be closer to the Yarthanganahalli TTMC which would additionally drive growth.

Third, the upcoming Devanahalli Business Park, as i have many times reiterated, would need a lot of workers coming in and going out.

Lastly, i wrote to Shri Rajeev Chandrashekar about the proposed Thanisandra corridor of NHAI. This would further obviate the need for HSRL if up. 

Sreedharan recommends high-speed rail connectivity to airport

murali772 - 14 August, 2016 - 11:00

Sreedharan said a highspeed rail link would be the best way to connect the city to the Kempegowda International Airport. Imagine the kind of land required for the Metro project and the amount of time it will take to complete the track to the airport. The best option would be a high-speed rail link with check-in facilities at the city centre, from where the link should commence,“ Sreedharan said.

For the full text of the report (emphasis added by me) in the ToI, click here.

Yes, as an extension of Namma Railu project, perhaps.

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