How a lesser-known station saved the day

Activists say that if properly developed, Chikkabanavara Rly station can ease pressure on other railway lines, help B’lureans living on the outskirts

While the lockdown has killed the life out of many things, it has brought an unexpected flurry of activity to others. Chikkabanavara railway station, which was hitherto quite unused, has become a hub of activity right now, with guest workers boarding trains from here to their hometowns.

Rail activists are now demanding that it is time to focus on such stations, which will immensely help Bengalureans, who live on the outskirts. They say that the Railways can also consider developing this as a proposed suburban project.

The Chikkabanavara station is at a distance of six kilometres from Yeshwanthpur station on the Bengaluru-Tumakuru railway line and connects to the Yeshwanthpur-Hassan line as well. A number of Shramik trains have been operational from this station (along with Malur).

Techie and rail activist Sanjeev Dyamannanavar said, “Chikkabanavara being a junction can be given two additional platforms from available land and with a small station improvement. The South Western Railways should consider improving stations like Chikkabanavara as Bengaluru city is growing.”

Srinivas Alavilli, one of the founders of Citizens from Bengaluru -- a grassroots movement body that works on the city’s infrastructure -- said that the Shramik train operations have once again shown how important suburban train stations are for our city.

“It must be developed along with many others and long-distance trains must be redeployed so that the capacity for local trains can be maximised in the short-term. By delaying identification and development of such stations, we are wasting precious resources every single day,” he said.

Madhava Banavara, a techie and rail enthusiast, suggested introducing new local services on the Chikkabanavara-Yelahanka-Whiefield/ Malur line via Yeshwanthpur by-pass line and also for the Chikkabanavara-Hebbal-Baiyappanahalli-Whitefield trains.

“The Chikkabanavara station has a number of advantages. It has five platforms that can easily accommodate Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU)/ Diesel–Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) services. If utilised, thousands of travellers can save precious time that they lose commuting around tech corridors,” he said.

When contacted, Bengaluru divisional railway manager Ashok Kumar Verma, said, “The Chikkabanavara station currently doesn’t have any rake maintenance facility, and therefore, even if we plan to start or terminate trains from there, we will have to maintain them at either KSR Bengaluru city or Yeshwanthpur stations. At Yeshwanthpur, we have sufficient additional land available and we have proposed a new coaching terminal with a full-fledged station with five platforms. This will serve as a terminating station when sanctioned.”