BENGALURU: Nine months after its completion, Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal at Byappanahalli is yet to be opened for passengers.
While the railway terminal was sanctioned in 2015-16 and was supposed to be completed in December 2018, it missed several deadlines and construction was completed only in March this year.
It is the city’s third railway coaching terminal which will operate more long-distance trains.
Sources said assembly elections in four states (Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal) in March-April and the second wave of Covid-19 delayed inauguration of the Rs 314-crore terminal. Back in September, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said it would be opened after resolution of connectivity issues.
In November, an 810m-long rail overbridge (ROB) at Byappanahalli, which was proposed in 2010-11 to ensure connectivity between Sir MV Terminal and Swami Vivekananda Metro station on Old Madras Road, was completed. In fact, many motorists have been using it now. BBMP has proposed another two-lane ROB along with this bridge and an elevated rotary flyover at Maruthi Sevanagar-IOC junction. Even if the work starts now, it will take at least 2-3 years to be completed.
“The Prime Minister is expected to inaugurate Byappanahalli terminal and was also supposed to lay the foundation stone for the suburban rail project, but we haven’t received confirmation on the date,” a senior SWR official said.
The PM’s Bengaluru visit scheduled this month was postponed on account of the model code of conduct for the legislative council elections.
With Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur, and Punjab going to the polls and the threat of Omicron and a third wave of Covid-19 looming, many passengers in the city are worried the terminal’s launch will be delayed further.
Sir MV Terminal, spread over 4,200sqm, is expected to cater to a daily footfall of 50,000. It has seven platforms, eight stabling lines and three pit lines. Every day, 50 trains can operate from the terminal.
Its facade is designed on the lines of Bengaluru airport and it also has a centralised AC system. In fact, two other revamped stations — Habibganj (Rani Kamlapati) in Madhya Pradesh and Gandhinagar in Gujarat — which offer airport-like facilities, have been inaugurated even though work on those stations was completed after Byappanahalli terminal.
Abhilash S, a regular rail passenger, said: “This is a criminal waste of taxpayers’ money. The inauguration can be done virtually. This is a crucial project as it will decongest two existing terminals like KSR Bengaluru City and Yeshwantpur.”
