ERB clears ₹22,242-cr sub-urban rail network in Bengaluru

The much delayed suburban railway service for Bengaluru has finally been cleared by the Extended Railway Board (ERB) of the Indian Railways. The project will be submitted to the cabinet committee for final clearances. The project will start services to tackle the city's growing traffic problem, especially in the high density IT Corridor along the Outer Ring Road. Cities like Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai already have suburban railway services. It is heartening to know that ERB has cleared the project after decades of protracted delays. Among others, the real benefit that Bengaluru will get from the Railways in the short term is that they can run a few local short-distance trains using the existing infrastructure and implement ideas like setting up halt stations in places like Maratahalli. Initiatives to work closely with BMTC to ensure bus connectivity from these stations will ensure that thousands of cars will remain off the Outer Ring Road when the project becomes fully functional.