Bengaluru’s Hoodi station closed for Memu trains, platforms to be razed

Bengaluru: Hoodi railway halt, a key suburban station in east Bengaluru catering to short-distance Memu services, has been temporarily shut as part of the ongoing railway line quadrupling project between Whitefield and Cantonment.

South Western Railway (SWR) discontinued all passenger services at the station from Monday, with both platforms set to be demolished to facilitate expansion works. The 19km quadrupling project, estimated to cost Rs 492 crore, aims to ease rail congestion within Bengaluru and improve connectivity through major stations, including Bengaluru East, Byappanahalli, and KR Pura.

All 23 Memu trains that previously halted at Hoodi will now skip the station until reconstruction works are completed. SWR officials said demolition of the current platforms is expected to begin this week.

Some of the affected Memu services include 66581 KSR Bengaluru-Bangarpet, 66587 Bengaluru Cantonment-Kolar, 16519 Jolarpettai-KSR Bengaluru, 66534 Krishnarajapuram-Kuppam, and 66556 KSR Bengaluru-Marikuppam.

“The two platforms here will be dismantled to accommodate the third and fourth line. Once that is completed, two platforms will be re-constructed and opened,” an SWR official said, adding that no diversions have been planned for major trains operating on the route.

Though SWR has not officially announced a deadline for reopening the station, railway sources indicated the work is unlikely to be completed before the year-end. “The station could be reopened by early 2027,” another official said.

At present, around 80 train services operate on the Cantonment-Whitefield section, where the average travel time is nearly 35 minutes. Railway officials expect the quadrupling project to reduce line crossings and improve train speed.

The overall project is expected to be completed by March next year, after which SWR is likely to introduce additional Memu services towards Kolar, Bangarpet, and parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.