Bengaluru plans shared Metro-suburban rail corridor at Benniganahalli

Bengaluru is planning a shared transport corridor at Benniganahalli where Namma Metro and the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project will run at different levels within the same right of way.

The proposal is aimed at reducing land acquisition in one of the city’s space-constrained areas while allowing two major public transport projects to use the same corridor.

Under the plan, the Blue Line of Namma Metro will pass above the suburban rail alignment being developed by K-RIDE, reported Bengaluru Mirror.

K-RIDE’s Kanaka Line will pass beneath the Blue Line for around 500 metres.

Officials said the arrangement could avoid the acquisition of around 1.3 acres of residential land.

The shared alignment is being planned around Benniganahalli, where available space is limited and both projects require a route through the same area.

The two systems will operate at different elevations rather than requiring separate land corridors.

The arrangement is expected to reduce land-acquisition requirements and could also lower construction costs by allowing infrastructure to be planned together.

The proposal also reflects an effort to coordinate two separate rail projects at an important transport node in Bengaluru.

Namma Metro’s Blue Line is planned as a major east-west corridor, while the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project is being developed to provide regional rail connectivity across the metropolitan area.

The Kanaka Line is one of the four suburban rail corridors being developed by K-RIDE.

The shared corridor at Benniganahalli is therefore being considered as an example of integrating Metro and suburban rail infrastructure instead of developing completely separate alignments.

The proposal will require coordination between the agencies implementing the Metro and suburban rail projects as well as detailed engineering to ensure that the two structures can be built and operated safely above and below each other, reported Bengaluru Mirror.

Officials are examining the final design, construction requirements and the land that can be saved through the shared alignment.

The project is particularly significant for Bengaluru because land availability and acquisition costs have increasingly become constraints for major transport projects.

Using a common right of way could allow the city to add two rail-based systems without requiring a completely separate corridor for each.

The Benniganahalli proposal is expected to be taken forward as part of the wider planning and construction of Bengaluru’s Metro and suburban rail networks.