As six-year deadline looms, Bengaluru suburban rail project delayed by land transfer

Bengaluru: Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP), a 148km network approved in 2020 with a six-year deadline, is yet to gather pace, with Union and state govts engaged in constant bickering over the slow transfer of private and govt lands.The project is being executed by the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Ltd, or K-Ride, a joint venture between the Centre and the state. It has seen patchy progress across corridors. Work on two key stretches — Byappanahalli-Rajanukunte and Heelalige-Rajanukunte — has been particularly affected.In 2025, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) terminated its contract for parts of the project, citing non-availability of land as per agreed conditions. K-Ride has since issued fresh tenders for pending work on the Byappanahalli–Chikkabanavara section.Responding to Chikkaballapur MP K Sudhakar's question, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in the Lok Sabha that land acquisition for the 25km Byappanahalli-Chikkabanavara corridor has been completed. Separate contracts for station buildings have been awarded and construction is under way. Tenders for other components have been floated.Progress on the 46.2km Heelalige-Rajanukunte corridor remains limited. Of the 57 acres required, only 7.8 acres have been acquired so far. The minister noted that delays stem from the non-acquisition of private land and the pending transfer of state govt land. No revised completion timeline was provided in the reply.On the remaining corridors — KSR Bengaluru City-Devanahalli (41.4km) and Kengeri-Whitefield (35.5km) — alignments have been approved and land acquisition has begun. Work on the airport line to Devanahalli, initially prioritised for connectivity to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), has also been slow.With two corridors stalled and the other two yet to begin construction, timely land acquisition remains central to reviving the project.K-Ride, in which state govt holds a 51% stake, had earlier been caught in Centre-state disagreements over implementation issues, including the appointment of a full-time managing director. In Dec 2025, both sides appointed IRSE officer Lakshman Singh to the post.K-Ride encashes Rs 57-crore bank guaranteeWith the arbitration tribunal rejecting L&T's request to restrain the invocation of performance guarantees, K-Ride invoked and encashed a Rs 57-crore bank guarantee issued by YES Bank on behalf of L&T for Corridor 2 (Byappanahalli-Chikkabanavara) and Corridor 4 (Heelalige-Rajanukunte). "L&T terminated two agreements and obtained a stay from a commercial court against the encashment of bank guarantees. They invoked the arbitration clause, following which a tribunal was constituted to examine their claims and our counterclaims. The commercial court referred all matters to the arbitration tribunal," a press release read.Slow search for faster Mumbai routeSeven months after railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced a superfast Mumbai-Bengaluru train service, the Railway Board is still searching for a faster route. A Dec 9 notification approved a train between SMVT Bengaluru and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. Its 24-hour running time was slower than the existing Udyaan Express. The train has since been put on hold. Bengaluru divisional railway manager Ashutosh Kumar Singh confirmed writing to the ministry again and seeking approval.
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